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                Metroid Prime -- Low Percent Run Walkthrough

                          Written by TreborSelbon

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Introduction

 This walkthrough is designed to help players new to a Low Percent Run (though
 it is also useful for experienced players too).  I wrote most of this
 walkthrough while playing on hard mode, so everything in here will work on
 both difficulty levels.  Unless otherwise stated, assume that I did it on
 hard mode.  Suggestions and comments are welcome (contact information is at
 the bottom of the FAQ).

 While a low percent run can fall into several categories, this FAQ is
 concerned only with the lowest percents, meaning no expansions of any kind.
 So far, the lowest confirmed is 22% (leaving out the Thermal Visor, Grappling
 Beam, Charge Beam, Super Missiles, Gravity Suit, Spider Ball, and the most
 recent Boost Ball).  Also, the Missile Launcher can be skipped too, but you
 have to pick up a Missile Expansion to make up for it.  For all intents and
 purposes, they are the same.  Even on normal, a 23% game is no easy task as
 you are without the Charge Beam.  Here are the supposed "required" items:

 Missile Launcher
 Wave Beam
 Ice Beam
 Plasma Beam
 Charge Beam (OPTIONAL)
 Super Missiles (OPTIONAL)
 Morph Ball
 Morph Ball Bombs
 Boost Ball (OPTIONAL)
 Spider Ball (OPTIONAL)
 Power Bombs
 Space Jump
 X-Ray Visor
 Varia Suit
 Gravity Suit (OPTIONAL)
 Phazon Suit & Beam
 12 Artifacts
 Grappling Beam (OPTIONAL)
 Thermal Visor (OPTIONAL)

 Taking out all the optional items and the Phazon Suit & Beam (they don't add
 to your completion percentage, oddly enough), this comes up to 22%.  Getting
 any of the optional items will make the game easier in some way, so feel free
 to collect one if you're having too much trouble.  Because 22% is much more
 difficult than 23% (in terms of the tricks needed to get around parts that
 normally require the Boost Ball, not in terms of enemies), this will still
 contain all the 23% info.

 Once you get into the meat of the FAQ, you'll see it divided into segments.
 In turn, each of these segments is divided into to portions: a normal
 walkthrough and a speed run walkthrough.  The normal walkthrough is designed
 mainly for inexperienced players on their first low percent game.  The speed
 run walkthrough, on the other hand, is designed for players that know what
 they are doing.  It is much more difficult because, in most cases, you are
 not allowed to take your time.

 While some of the normal route strategies may be a little advanced for
 first-timers, I've used the exact same route for both types of games, mainly
 for organizational reasons.  Therefore, speed run info is found directly
 underneath normal info.  The times listed will be for normal 23%.  I'll also
 put my normal 22% time in the end, but it is just preliminary.  I definitely
 plan to improve it in a later update.  The same goes for my hard 23% time.

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Version History

 Version 1.0 -- 1/19/03.  First release.  Pretty simple layout, yet very
                detailed and descriptive.

 Version 1.1 -- 1/24/03.  Finished adding all the info for the new low: 27%.

 Version 1.2 -- 7/9/03.  Finished rewriting all the info for the new low: 23%.
                Yes, I pretty much completely rewrote the entire FAQ.  Also,
                I added the speed run info, which practically doubled the size
                of the FAQ.  Pretty huge update if you ask me.  Since there's
                no real way to lower the percentage any more (well, not that
                we know of, but that could change), this may be the final
                huge update.  In the next small one, I'll update the times for
                speed runs.

        You may be wondering why I didn't update for 24%.  Well, I was going
        to, but by the time I finished the 24% run (I have to do it to make
        sure the strategies work) and updated all the FAQ info, 23% had been
        discovered.  Oh well...

 Version 1.3 -- 11/26/03.  Hear that?  Yes, that is the sound of me eating my
                words.  Just a few weeks ago, 22% was confirmed by yours
                truly.  Of course, I had tons of help (check the credits).
                So, I've added that info as well as minor revisions here and
                there.  Also, finished updating my times for normal 23% and
                added my final normal 22% and hard 23% times.

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Table of Contents

   I.  Tips
       A. L-lock spring jump
       B. Dash jump
       C. Double bomb jump morph
       D. Triple bomb jump
       E. Ghetto jump
       F. Speed jump
       G. Rapid Fire missiles
  II.  Walkthrough
       A. Segment 1 - Space Pirate Frigate
       B. Segment 2 - Early Space Jump Boots....VERY Early
       C. Segment 3 - The Chozo Run
       D. Segment 4 - Flaahgra and Company
       E. Segment 5 - Fire and Ice
       F. Segment 6 - Back to the Ruins
       G. Segment 7 - Power Bombs (The Easy Run of the Mines)
       H. Segment 8 - How About a Little Plasma, Scarecrow?
       I. Segment 9 - A New Visor
       J. Segment 10 - Yes, You Will Get Owned Repeatedly
       K. Segment 11 - The Trek to Omega Pirate
       L. Segment 12 - The Omega Pirate
       M. Segment 13 - It's All Down Hill from Here
       N. Segment 14 - Meta Ridley
       O. Segment 15 - Metroid Prime
 III.  Legal Crap
  IV.  Special Thanks
   V.  Contact Information

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I. Tips

 This section is dedicated to the more advanced moves in the game, some of
 which were probably not intended to be included at all.  To be successful in
 a low percent game, you need to master almost all of these moves.
 Fortunately for you, they aren't all that hard to pull off (with the
 exception of the triple bomb jump).

 A. L-lock spring jump.

    This is one of the most beautiful moves in the entire game.  The most
    basic form of this move is quite simple; you aim down (or up) with R, the
    press and hold L (releasing R).  Then you jump.  As you are ascending
    (right after you leave the ground, preferably), release L.  This will give
    you quite a bit more reach on your jump.  Also, you can add a double jump,
    a twist, or both to this move to extend your distance even farther.
    Adding a twist is quite simple.  As soon as you start the jump, turn a
    little to the right (or left).  Now, immediately turn back to the left (or
    right).  This can be combined with a double jump for even more distance.

 B. Dash jump.

    The physics of this move must be seen to believed.  It can be done while
    looking through any of your visors, Scan Visor included.  To set this move
    up, you need something that can be locked onto (or a Scan Point).  Lock
    onto it (or start scanning it), and perform a dash to the left or right.
    As soon as the dash starts, release every button except the control stick;
    keep holding it in the direction of the dash.  You will notice that Samus
    will go quite far, but with very little height.  You can add a double jump
    to the end of this for more control, distance, and height.

 C. Double bomb jump morph (dbjm).

    One of the first advanced moves discovered, and, therefore, quite easy to
    pull off.  The premise is simple;  perform a double bomb jump and unmorph
    after the third bomb hits you.  The reason for this move may not be so
    obvious at first.  It gives you quite a bit of distance on your double
    bomb jumps.  You can vary the timing of the bombs and the morph to tweak
    the distance.

 D. Triple bomb jump (tbj).

    Even though it's not needed at all in a low percent game, I thought I
    might as well go ahead and include it in this section.  If you done any
    bomb jumping at all, I'm sure you know that the bomb counter has a nasty
    way of running out when you don't want it to.  Tbj-ing involves
    manipulating this counter to get off five bombs instead of three.  To pull
    it off, you need to lay down the first bomb.  Now, wait for it to explode.
    When you land, lay down bombs two, three, and four the same way you would
    for a double bomb jump.  Now, right after bomb three explodes, you want to
    lay down another bomb, bomb five, on your way up (but before bomb four
    explodes).  As with bomb five, you'll want to lay bomb six right after
    bomb four explodes.  You can also morph out here to get the same effect as
    morphing out of a double bomb jump.

    As a variation of this, you can lay down three bombs in rapid succession
    immediately after bomb two as mentioned above.

 E. Ghetto jump.

    Ghetto jump is the term kip gave to this move.  This move involves using
    a wall for added height.  To do this, you obviously need to be standing by
    a wall.  Push against the wall, and jump.  After two-thirds of your jump
    is complete, pull away from the wall.  Now, space jump as usual.  This
    will give you more height on your jump, but it's most noticable when
    performed underwater (see the Artifact of Lifegiver).  It's not exactly
    known how this works.  Apparantly, when pushing against a wall, the game
    treats Samus as if she's not underwater at all.

 F. Speed jump.

    This beauty is a variation of the L-lock spring jump and is EXTREMELY
    useful in speed runs.  Words cannot express the usefulness of this move.
    To do this, press and release L as you jump.  Yes, it's that simple.  It
    pretty much gets as much distance as the L-lock spring jump (performed
    with only a single jump).  There's really no need to add a twist or double
    jump to this move, as it doesn't increase your speed at all.  You have to
    see this for yourself.

 G. Rapid fire missiles.

    This move is essential in order to get a time of five minutes on the
    Prologue.  To perform this trick, press Y, then immediately press A.  It's
    easiest to pull off if you hit Y then roll your thumb down to hit A.  It
    only works when using the Power Beam.  The reason for this is the other
    beams close too slow (that's what hitting A is for, after all).  Another
    move that has to be seen in action to appreciate its worth.

===============================================================================
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                               II. Walkthrough


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Segment 1 -- Space Pirate Frigate

 As with any other type of game, this should be fairly easy.  Hopefully,
 you've had practice by now and you know about where everything is in this
 space station.  If you die here, you should seriously reconsider a low
 percent run.

 This part of the game is very straight-forward, so I won't bother walking you
 through it.  I'll just mention something really quickly.  Make sure you know
 where the Turrets are.  These things can easily eat away your life if you're
 not careful, especially on hard mode.  Just get down the pattern to their
 shooting and step out and blast them.

FOR SPEED:

 This is probably the only free part of a speed run.  If you save on Tallon
 with a time you don't like, just start over.  Of course, you can do this on
 with any other segment provided you have at least two memory cards.  Before
 you get started, make sure you are a master at speed jumping.  Read the tip
 section to find out.

 Anyway, The basic idea here is to go as fast as you possibly can, ignoring
 almost all of the enemies you run across.  There are only 3 required enemies
 in this whole place, but there are a couple that would be beneficial to kill.
 Use the Speed Jump liberally, and you'll meet the time goal.

 When you gain control of Samus, shoot the two switches in front of you.  You
 should be able to hit both before the visor info comes up (you'll have to
 manually target them).  Now, hit the other switches on the other post.
 Quickly scan the panel and do the same thing to the next set of switches.
 Now, head into the base.  As soon as you open the second door, have the Scan
 Visor out.  Scan the Air Lock mechanism and keep going.  In the big room,
 just leap over the railings on the way to the door.  Open the door and begin
 charging a charged shot, so you won't have to wait to blow up the
 obstruction.  After you shoot the door in the tunnel that has the Map Data,
 pull up the Scan Visor as you head through the next door, activate the
 switch, and head down the elevator.

 In the room at the bottom of the elevator, go around the room and quickly
 shoot the Space Pirate that is standing near the door (optional fight; this
 just saves life).  Open the door and begin charging your beam.  In the next
 room, blast the Turret in stride and head through the door.  Go around the
 room until you can see the elevator switch.  Scan it, hop on the elevator to
 activate it, then roll back into a ball.  Roll past all the Pirates on the
 upper level, bomb the door, and go through it.  Roll through the next room
 and bomb the door.  Stand up and charge your beam.  Turn to the right, blast
 the Turret as soon as you lock onto it, and pull out your Scan Visor.  Scan
 the elevator switch, head in, and ride it to the bottom.

 If the Scan Visor isn't still out, pull it out and scan the switch before
 exiting the elevator.  Ignore the Pirate and roll onto the Morph Ball switch.
 While the door is opening, he stops moving, so don't worry.  Repeat in the
 next room (ingnoring the Turrets).  Keep going to fight the Parasite Queen
 (don't worry about the Save Point).  Now, this part is crucial.  Until now,
 everything has been the same for either difficulty.  If you are playing on
 normal mode, just rapid fire all your missiles.  You should have a few left.
 If you are playing on hard mode, rapid fire all BUT ONE of your missiles
 (i.e. 14), then finish up with Charge Beam shots.  You'll see why in a
 minute.

 Now, for the escape.  Upon opening the second door you come to, whip out the
 Scan Visor to scan the elevator switch and head up.  On normal mode, missile
 the Turret at the top.  On hard mode, shoot it with a charge shot (you should
 start the charge as soon as you scan the elevator) and follow up with a
 missile.  This Turret will ALWAYS leave a missile refill.

 Just avoid all the Pirates in the next room and make for the exhaust vent (or
 whatever that thing is).  Use the Morphing Ball the roll down the slopes.  In
 the third sloped tunnel, quickly morph out (you should keep moving forward)
 and shoot the door.  Quickly morph back.  Keep using the Morphing Ball until
 you reach a tunnel that goes uphill.  Morph out, speed jump up the hill
 (doing your best to avoid the little orange things hanging down), and open
 the door.  At the top of the ramp, rapid fire two missiles at each of the
 turrets (one each for normal mode).  You absolutely have to kill these two;
 there's no way around it.  Open the door, morph back into a ball, and
 continue down until you reach the next door.  You should be speed jumping the
 rest of the way.  Shortly, you should come to a room with a giant piston.
 For a good time, you need to be here with more than 5:20 left on the clock
 (5:25 for a great time).  Continue to the room that houses Ridley.

 After the cutscene, quickly grapple across the pit and shoot the door.  If
 you are playing on hard mode, scan the first switch to turn off the Turret.
 If you are playing on normal mode, just roll into a ball and roll past the
 Turret (the morphing should be done before you actually enter the room).  In
 either case, scan the final switch as quickly as possible to trigger the
 cutscene.  At the top of the elevator is a winding passage.  To navigate it
 quickly, hold L and maneuver your way through.  Turning wastes too much time.
 Anyway, head out of the ship to finish this segment.

 This whole segment can be done in 5 minutes on either difficulty, provided
 you are fast enough.  For normal, you definitely need a time of 5 minutes.
 For hard, 6 is fine unless you are a perfectionist.

 Time elapsed: :05 [0%]

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Segment 2 -- Early Space Jump Boots....VERY Early

 Well, I see no reason not to do this now.  It serves no real purpose than to
 save time, but it's just too awesome.

 Go to the back right thruster of the ship (on the right if you are facing the
 direction the ship is facing).  Pull out the Scan Visor and look at the door
 to the artifact site.  You can scan the spider vine near it.  Perform a dash
 jump from the ship to the ledge on the right.  It may take a few tries, but
 it's easy compared to some of the stuff in the game.  From this ledge, head
 around and pick up the Space Jump.  First item.  Nifty.  Now go back and
 save.

FOR SPEED:

 You can pull off the dash jump without going back far at all.  If you don't
 do it on your first try, restart.  It's really that simple.  This is
 definitely one of the easiest things to pull off, so cherish this moment.

 Time elapsed: :05 [1%] (saved at the ship)

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Segment 3 -- The Chozo Run

 From the ship, make your way to the Chozo Ruins elevator.  Once in the Ruins,
 head like you are going to pick up the Missile Launcher.  Make sure you save
 and continue on.  Once you get to the Hive Totem room, fight Hive Mecha.
 Look straight ahead and shoot repeatedly where the Ram War Wasps come out.
 This way, you'll take out a few before they get a chance to gang up on you.
 Then, just wait for them to stop circling and take them out quickly; if they
 knock you off into the acid, you'll likely die in hard mode.  Grab the
 Missile Launcher and head back the way you came.

 Once again, save, and head back towards the Morphing Ball.  Those Bettles
 shouldn't give you trouble as long as you keep moving.  Once the Plated
 Beetle appears, shoot him twice in his hindquarters with a misslie to kill
 him quickly.  If you're not good at dodging his dash, do it like this: wait
 for him to move sideways twice.  Then, give him time to make a schreeching
 noise before you sidestep.  Collect the Morphing Ball and head back to the
 Main Plaza.

 Head to the upper level and across the bridge.  Ignore the War Wasps and head
 into the door.  Continue on until you reach the Arboretum.  Go through the
 door on the lower level, and you'll eventually end up in the Gathering Hall.
 Save at the Save Point.  Head through the door on the upper level to
 eventually wind up in the Energy Core.  Head down the left tunnel to access
 the Burn Dome and beat the Incinerator Drone for the Bombs.

 This is the first boss that tests your skill.  While he's not difficult, here
 you will learn the key to being successful in a low percent run:
 concentration.  By this I mean you have watch 2 or more things at once while
 fighting.  On normal mode, it's not so bad because his flame jets aren't that
 big a problem.  Then, you can concentrate solely on the Barbed War Wasps.
 But on hard mode, you need to be pretty decent at dodging those jets WHILE
 killing the wasps.  The best way to do this is to lock onto a Wasp.  Then,
 while rapidly pressing the A button, only pay attention to the flame jets,
 avoiding them as much as possible.  Make sure you can do this well, because
 you'll definitely need it later on.

 Anyway, after defeating him, collect the bombs and head back to the Gathering
 Hall to save.

FOR SPEED:

 As usual, from the ship, head to the Chozo Ruins Elevator.  Once inside the
 Ruins, make your way to the half-pipe in Main Plaza.  Walk all the way up the
 slope underneath the Missile Expansion.  Use the Ghetto Jump to get into the
 alcove and pick up the expansion.  This saves you the time and trouble of
 going to Hive Mecha for the Missile Launcher, and it functions just the same.

 From here, head over to the Ruined Shrine where the Morphing Ball is (ignore
 the Scarabs along the way, but keep in mind, they can kill you quickly).
 Anyway, get up on the half-pipe, and L-lock double jump over to the Morphing
 Ball to avoid triggering the Beetles.  To get back across, just stay in ball
 form and trigger the beetles.  When you regain control of Samus, you'll
 magically be standing up.  Just space jump over the half-pipe and exit the
 room.  Head back to the Main Plaza.

 From here, perform a ghetto jump off the tree across from you to get onto an
 "invisible" ledge.  From this knob in the tree, jump up to the upper ledge
 and go into the door.  Make your way to the Ruined Fountain.  Space jump
 directly to the door.  If you are low on life, just speed jump through the
 next room and kill the Shriekbats to refill.  If not, just morph into a ball
 and roll through the next room.  Either way, open the Missile Lock and enter
 the next room.

 Once in the Arboretum, head directly to the door that leads to the Gathering
 Hall.  Once there, work your way up to the top quickly.  See how much this
 early Space Jump comes in handy?  It shouldn't take too much to figure out
 the quickest way up.  Morph into a ball and roll through the next room.
 The next stop is the Energy Core.  Head down the left corridor and enter the
 tunnel to get to the Burn Dome.

 You know the deal here.  The Incenerator Drone isn't hard, but those Barbed
 War Wasps can be annoying.  Take them out while you wait for the Drone to
 expose his weak point.  Once that comes up, use a missile for the quick hit.
 If you need a refill, the wasps will drop them from time to time.  Try to
 save two missiles for later if you can, but it's not life or death.

 After you get the bombs, head back to the Furnace and activate the door.
 Might as well do it now because you're already over here by the first
 generator-type thing.  Just remember that a bomb slot will activate so long
 as it is within an exploding bomb's blast radius and you are fully in the
 slot (in short, the bomb doesn't have to be right on top of the slot).  Once
 that's done, head back to the Gathering Hall and save at the bottom.  If you
 feel like you are up to it, skip this save altogether and try to package
 Flaahgra and the Sun Tower with this segment.  It would save a little time by
 avoiding the Save Point, but you may pay for it by spending tons upon tons
 of time trying to do it perfect.

 Time elapsed: :11 [4%]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Segment 4 -- Flaahgra and Company

 From the Save Point, head back to the Arboretum and start scanning the runes
 as you climb the room.  Since you already have the Space Jump, you don't have
 to roll through those tunnels along the wall.  Keep going through the upper
 passage until you reach Flaahgra.

 First off, his most damaging attack is when he swings his claws at you.  I've
 found no sure-fire way to dodge them, so you'll have to experiment.  Some
 times I've sidestepped them, other times I've just backed up so he would
 miss, and other times I've jumped over them.  Just do a combination of these
 (or one method that works best for you), and hope he doesn't use it often.
 It's pretty easy to avoid those balls he shoots at you, just be awake and
 sidestep them.  When he lunges at you and makes a hedge of poisonous weeds
 grow, just remember where he put it.  It can do tons of damage if you stay in
 it too long.  Just hope he doesn't do this between you and a mirror that you
 need to flip, causing you to either wait or go all the way back around.

 Even though I wrote up all those moves, you really don't need to know them.
 All you have to do is hit a mirror to distract him, then blast him until he's
 stunned.  After that, flip the rest of the mirrors.  Feel free to stun him
 more than once if you don't like to be rushed.

 After you get the Varia Suit, go through the door and keep going until you
 come out at the top of the Sun Tower.  Only blow up two of the four crates
 along the way; you'll need them on the way back.  Now, for the tricky part.
 Because you won't be collecting the Spider Ball, you can't get back up this
 tower once you fall.  That would normally mean you couldn't collect the
 Artifact of Wild, but there wouldn't be much point in even mentioning this if
 it couldn't be done.  The trick is to go down far enough in the Sun Tower to
 reload the Sun Chamber so that the Chozo Ghosts appear.

 To start it, turn right at the ledge and you'll notice a dark strip running
 up and down the wall.  Also, notice how it forms a little groove where it
 meets the wall.  Jump from the top into this groove and morph into a ball.
 If done correctly, an Oculus will keep you from falling all the way down to
 the bottom of the Sun Tower.  Obviously, you will be taking damage, so you'll
 need to be quick about this next part.  Hold up and left (exactly in the
 middle; anything else and you'll fall too fast).  When the Oculus on which
 you are sitting starts to turn right, lay down a bomb.  For every subsequent
 bomb, you need to lay it down right after the previous bomb explodes (or
 there about; you might have to play around with the timing).  As long as you
 hold up and left and keep the right timing, you'll climb right up to the top.
 There's one more kicker.  When you reach the bottom of the ledge at the top
 (after the last bomb hits), you'll need to morph out to get up on the ledge.
 If that sounds easy, trust me; it's not as easy as it sounds.  This will take
 you several tries, so you will get very good at fighting Flaahgra.

 Anyway, once you make it to the top, head back to the Sun Chamber.  Along the
 way, blow up those other boxes to refill your life.  Once back in the Sun
 Chamber, kill all the Ghosts.  As with any Ghosts, they are easy provided you
 don't stand in any one spot for a long time.  After you dispatch them,
 collect the Artifact of Wild and head back the way you came (towards the Sun
 Tower).  Jump down, head through the door, and take the elevator to Magmoor
 Caverns.  Save at the Burning Trail Save Point.

FOR SPEED:

 Because nothing is really different from the normal run, there's not much to
 say here.  As usual, avoid fighting any enemies along the way.  Once you get
 to Flaahgra, if you're feeling especially daring, you can flip the mirrors
 without stunning him.  This would save you time if everything works out
 out perfectly, but it could also cost you time if something goes wrong.  Do
 whatever you feel you need to do.  As for the Ghosts, there's really no fast
 way to kill them other than to blast away at the nearest one.  Save at the
 same Save Point (Burning Trail).

 Time Elapsed: :17 [6%]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Segment 5 -- Fire and Ice

 It's fairly straight forward from here.  Head through the caverns until you
 reach Lava Lake.  From the patch of ground leading to the second half of the
 room, blow up the central pillar with missiles.  On the right side of the
 base of the pillar, there is a spot on which you can easily jump.  It may not
 be obvious at first, but it's the biggest part of the base.  After you
 collect the Artifact of Nature, head through the tunnel to access the second
 half of Lava Lake.  Continue on to the Monitor Station.  Watch out for the
 Turrets here.  Take the door on the second level.  This takes you to
 Phendrana Drifts.  Head to the Save Point on the left.

 This is where 22% and 23% differ.  If you are going for 23%, head up to the
 top and make for the Boost Ball.  Be aware of the Baby Sheegoths, especially
 in hard mode.  They can obliterate you if they gang up on you.  Once you
 collect the Boost Ball, head back to the Shorelines.  If you are going for
 22%, just ignore the lines above and start here.  From the upper ledge, space
 jump across to the Chozo Ice Temple.  Carefully make your way past the Bombus
 and up the large room.  Keep going until you reach Sheegoth.  Clear out the
 Baby Sheegoths first, obviously.

 Now, without missiles you'll have to do a bit of improvising.  Roll up into a
 ball and drop bombs about Sheegoth's feet.  It's very easy to get hit, so
 don't be impatient.  To be successful, wait for to do her Ice Breath attack,
 then roll around to the other side (the back end) and drop all three bombs.
 She'll then turn around.  Repeat until she goes doen.  I find it easier if I
 get her to a part of the arena where you can see her whole body at all times.
 This way, it's easier to judge where to roll.  If you need any life, bomb the
 boxes in the corners of the arena.  Once she goes down, collect the Wave
 Beam, leave the Temple, and Save your game.

FOR SPEED:

 At this point, you should have 4 missiles remaining.  From the Save Point,
 head into the room with the two Flame Jets and the two Grizbies (avoid every
 enemy up to this point).  Missile the Grizby on the right (it should drop a
 refill; if it doesn't fall in the lava and restart).  In Lava Lake, do the
 same thing as usual and collect the Artifact.  In the room after Lava Lake,
 just jump over the fence instead of rolling under it.  Proceed as usual until
 you get to the Monitor Station.

 This part is a bit difficult to explain, but not hard to pull off if you
 follow directions well.  Anyway, run directly to the right of the center
 platform (you'll have to cut through the lava).  When you get to a point
 where the center platform is on your left, jump out of the lava and onto dry
 land.  You should still be facing the same direction as you were when you
 first entered the room.  Now, jump on the base of the leg support that you
 can see.  This next part is easier if you turn to the left (facing the
 structure centered on this platform).  Above you and to your left is a little
 knob sticking out of the the structure.  To get on it, you'll have to jump on
 the other side of it (there's something blocking your way if you jump onto
 the side closest to you).  Meaning, on your first jump, you should be
 directly in front of the knob, and on your second jump, you should move
 around the left side of the knob and slide on top by pushing right (face the
 same direction the whole time).  From there, it's a simple jump to the
 catwalk that leads to the exit.  Take the eventual elevator up to Phendrana.
 Missile all three Ice barriers and save at the Shorelines Save Point (normal
 23% :19, 7%)

 From here, head to the door above you like you are going to make for the
 Boost Ball.  If you are doing 23%, quickly collect it and head back to the
 Shorelines.  If not, ignore the above line.  Now, Space jump across to the
 Chozo Ice Temple.  As usual, avoid the Bombus and make your way to the big
 room.  Kill the Baby Sheegoth and start heading up.  Kill only those things
 in your way.  When you get to Sheegoth, take her out like you would in any
 low % run.  Once you collect the Wave Beam, head back out to the Shorelines.
 DO NOT SAVE.  It takes way too much time.

 Time elapsed: ---

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Segment 6 -- Back to the Ruins

 From the Shorelines Save Point, head to the nearest elevator to get back to
 Magmoor.  Once in the Monitor Station, use the platform to the right of the
 bridge to get on top of the central platform.  You can use the Boost Ball to
 aise the bridge to the Artifact of Strength, but if you don't have it, you'll
 have to dash jump over there from atop the highest computer terminal (there
 is a puffer below you and to your right).  Collect the Artifact and head back
 out.

 Hop down to the ground directly below the doorway and enter the door behind
 you.  From here, carefully make your way to the Root Cave elevator.  Once
 back on Tallon Overworld, head up root cave and make your way to Tallon
 Canyon.  Head left and take the Chozo Ruins elevator.  You remember where you
 picked up the Morph Ball?  That's where you need to go.  Once in the Ruined
 Shrine, use the half-pipe to get on the right ledge (if you are facing away
 from the door from which you just entered).  If you don't have the Boost
 Ball, you'll have to do a ghetto jump to an "invisible" ledge.  To achieve
 this, stand in the half-pipe and face the right-hand side (looking away from
 the door from which you entered).  Now, where this ledge above the half-pipe
 ends (protrudes to the left), there is a place you can stand along the wall
 (it's lower than the ledge itself).  Just take a leap of faith and ghetto
 jump to that point (it may take a few tries, but don't get discouraged).
 Because you don't have the Spider Ball, you'll have to find some other way
 over to the ledge in front of the Wave Door.  From the closest point on this
 ledge to the door (about where the bend is if you are looking down at your
 feet), perform an L-lock double jump over to the ledge.

 Continue on until you reach the Tower of Light.  Jump into the water and head
 through the opening on the side of the room opposite the door.  Go up as far
 as you can (you should run into a tall cliff of sorts).  Due to some weird
 programming bug, you can get some astounding height by doing a ghetto jump
 here.  You can even do it without the Space Jump!  The trick is to pull away
 from the wall before the peak of your first jump; otherwise, you will fall
 back down because the wall has lumps in it.  I find it helpful if you turn
 sideways (looking at either the left-hand or right-hand wall) so that you can
 judge you jumps better, but it can be done either way.

 Once out of the water, collect the Artifact of Lifegiver in the next room and
 head back out the the Main Plaza.  From here, head through the upper door and
 make your way to the Energy Core.  Save at the Gathering Hall along the way,
 if you want.  Exit through the door you unlocked earlier by activating the
 generators and you will end up in the Furnace.  Again, without the Spider
 Ball, you'll have to find another way up that track to the hole.  You have a
 couple of options; you can either track jump up there, or you can triple bomb
 jump up there.  Trust me; it is MUCH easier to track jump up there.  To do
 this, push against the track and turn to the left so that the track takes up
 half your view, and the wall takes up the other half.  If you keep pushing
 against the track, you will start to climb the track.  Now, do a double jump
 to make it to the hole (you can stand on the lip of the hole).  Roll into a
 ball and hold up to make it in the hole.  Follow this tunnel until you pop
 out in an open area (relatively speaking; by open, I mean you can stand up).
 Turn to the left and head through the Morph Ball tunnel underneath the Chozo
 Lore on the wall.  Continue through the Ruins until you reach the Hall of
 Elders (Crossway can be done by ghetto jumping out of the half-pipe).
 Compared to the ghosts guarding the Artifact of Wild, this one is a pushover.
 Take him out as you see fit.

 Now, the tricky part.  Sans Spider Ball, you'll have to find another way to
 activate the colored switches (and leave the room).  You know that ledge that
 runs beneath the colored switches?  Stand on the end of it nearest the
 entrance door (in front of the Morph Ball hole that leads to the Missile
 Recharge.  From here, you'll need to Space Jump to the knob of the flat disk
 in the corner of the room (across from the Chozo Statue).  Lock your view
 down and line it up as best you can; it's pretty tricky.  Anyway, from this
 knob, space jump to the ledge by the Morph Ball slot (it should be right in
 front of you).  Activate the purple switch and hop into the Chozo's hands to
 reach the exit.

 At the Reflecting Pool, drain the water, boost to the upper level, and
 collect the Ice Beam.  If you don't have the Boost Ball, this is much
 trickier.  From the entrance, go around the left side of the pool until you
 get to the first Stone Toad.  Jump on the tallest part of his fins.  Now,
 you'll have to do a ghetto jump off the pipe hanging down immediately to your
 right.  Once on the upper ledge, collect the Ice Beam.  After either method,
 save at the Save Point across the room on the upper level.

 After saving at the Save Point, you have a couple of options to get to the
 Mines.  You can either head through the Crashed Frigate, or you can go
 through Great Tree Hall.  Because the Frigate can be such a pain in the neck,
 we'll go the other way.  Anyway, head back into the Reflecting Pool and take
 the door on your right to eventually reach an elevator to Tallon Overworld.
 I should also mention that if you abolutely want the Plasma Beam early, go
 for it.  You'll have to do an awful lot of backtracking, but time doesn't
 matter.  In this walkthrough, we won't be getting it just yet; there's no
 need for it, even in the Mines, and it may even cause you some trouble.

 Anyway, if you follow the corridors once on the Overworld, you'll end up in
 Great Tree Hall.  Normally, this would be pointless as there is a gate
 blocking your way to the lower half of the room.  But with a little trick,
 you can make it past that gate.  To do this, you need to do a double bomb
 jump over the rightmost edge.  Hold between up and up-right as you reach the
 peak of your jump to make it through.  This may take several tries, as it's
 quite a tight fit.  Once you get past it, make sure you open it up (you
 wouldn't want to do it again, would you?  If you don't have the Boost Ball,
 you're out of luck; you'll have to do it again).  Continue down to the next
 Ice Beam door.  Take this door to reach the Phazon Mines.

 Your first priority here should be to save at the Main Quarry Save Point.
 This would be elementary in any other case, but you can't use the Spider Ball
 track to access the room.  To get up there, you have a couple options.  You
 can do an L-lock double jump with a twist from one of the supports of the
 central platform, or you can navigate the room until you get onto the
 from above the ledge.  If you do this, you'll have to worry with the Troopers
 and the Turrets.  If you ask me, it's not worth the hassle.  Just use the
 supports to get there.

FOR SPEED:

 Where we last left off, we were at Phendrana Shorelines (unsaved).  Head into
 the door leading to the Magmoor elevator.  Ride it down and follow the path
 until you reach the Monitor Station.  Head up top and quickly collect the
 Artifact of Strength (if you fall, let the lava handle you and restart).
 Don't bother raising the bridge; just perform a dash jump from the top of the
 computer terminal using the Puffer below you and to your right.  From the
 door to the Artifact, jump down directly below you and enter the door behind
 you.  Quickly make your way to the Root Cave elevator.  You shouldn't kill a
 single enemy along the way.  In the room with the Grapple Points, space jump
 as far as you can.  At that point, the lava should be shallow so you can just
 jump right out.  You should only have to wait for one set of Flame Jets along
 the way:  the last set.  All the rest can be bypassed by hugging the wall.

 Once back on Tallon Overworld, head to the Chozo Ruins.  Once there, make
 your way over to the Ruined Shrine (where you picked up the Morph Ball).  Get
 on the right-hand ledge of the half-pipe (using either method described in
 the normal walkthrough) and L-lock spring jump over to the ledge with the
 Wave Door.  Continue through here to the Tower of Light and collect the
 Artifact of Lifegiver like you normally would (using the wall to get insane
 height).

 After you collect the Artifact, head back to Main Plaza and head through the
 upper door.  From here, go to the Furnace while cutting as many corners as
 possible.  Use the track jump to gain access to the big room of the Furnace
 and head through the hole in the wall.  Once you get to the Hall of Elders,
 use the trick outlined in the normal walkthrough to reach the bomb slot
 BEFORE you kill the ghost.  The loading animation for the ghost eats up
 rediculous amounts of time.  I would give the trick two tries maximum before
 I restart.  It's up to you really, but don't waste too much time.  Once you
 kill the ghost, exit the room like you normally would.

 Continue on this route until you reach Reflecting Pool.  Boost or ghetto jump
 up to the top, collect the Ice Beam, and save (normal 23% - :33, 12%).  If
 you're thinking about getting the Plasma Beam now, forget it.  It eats up way
 too much time.  At any rate, head back in the Reflecting Pool and enter the
 door on your right (the Crashed Frigate would be a speed run suicide).  Take
 the elevator down to Tallon Overworld and head to Great Tree Hall.  Use the
 double bomb jump to clear the gate, open it (if you have the Boost Ball), and
 head to the Mines elevator.  Once in the Mines, head to the Main Quarry and
 use the supports to reach the Save Point.

 Time elapsed: :34 [12%]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Segment 7 -- Power Bombs (The Easy Run of the Mines)

 From the Save Point, head back into Main Quarry and take out those Mega
 Turrets to your left.  Because those things are so nasty, taking on two is a
 definite no-no.  Use anything you can find for cover and take them out one at
 a time.  Once they are gone, you can make your way up the structure in the
 middle of the room without their hindering you.  When you get halfway up the
 last brown slope, the Space Pirates will appear.  If you want to fight them,
 you can, but it's not manditory.  If you decide to, find some form of cover.
 After everything is taken care of, and you are on top of the structure (where
 the crane sits), walk over to the upper left ledge if you are facing the door
 to Waste Disposal.  Turn to your right and pull out your Scan Visor.  Perform
 a dash jump using one of the Scan Points to reach the door to Waste Disposal.

 Navigate the water maze to reach the top of Ore Processing.  When you open
 the door, you'll notice the Wave Trooper standing in front of you.  Don't be
 alarmed; he won't bother you as long as you don't shoot him.  Ignore him and
 go through the door on the next level down (to your left).  Follow this path
 until you get to the elevator (take out the Bombus in the shaft).

 In the first room past the elevator, shoot the explosive box on the little
 ledge to avoid having to fight the Space Pirates.  Continue into the next
 room to fight an Elite Pirate.  Use your Ice Beam to take him out (or Plasma,
 if you have it).  It takes exactly 30 shots to kill him on hard with the Ice
 Beam.  This one is incredibly easy because he won't move past a certain point
 in the room.  Once he gets to the computers closest to the entrance, he'll
 just stand there.  He'll still attack, but since you don't have to worry
 about obstacles, you should never get hit.  Once he's dead, head directly
 back to the elevator (don't bother with the Ice Troopers).  Once you get to
 the door to the elevator room, turn back around and head to the room where
 you fought the Elite Pirate.  Now, instead of Ice Troopers, you have Shadow
 Troopers.  Because you have no easy way of killing them, you'll have to avoid
 them and run directly to the exit at the top of the room (the reason for
 reloading the room to get the Shadow Troopers instead of the Ice Troopers is
 simple: the Shadow Troopers cannot shoot at you).

 The next room will start filling up with poisonous gas as soon as you touch
 the ground.  Solution:  don't touch the ground anywhere in the half-pipe.  To
 do this, just L-lock double jump all the way to the exit corridor.  Once you
 are in there, the gas cannot hurt you.  Thus, you won't take any damage.
 Exit the room to enter Omega Research.

 There are two ways to tackle this room; you can either fight all the enemies,
 or you can make a mad dash to the exit.  Either way, you'll probably take
 some damage.  Personally, I prefer to just avoid them, but the choice is
 ultimately up to you.  Even on hard, you can get out with at least half life.
 To avoid them, just jump directly at the door in the floor.  Shoot it, then
 strafe back and forth over the top of it until it opens.  If you want to
 fight, inch around the left side of the little office-type room in which you
 start while facing right.  Kill the Wave Trooper there using the walls for
 cover.  Don't venture out too far, as another Wave Trooper will fall from the
 ceiling onto the floating platform in the middle of the room.  If the first
 one happens to fall off (to where you can't shoot him without stepping out on
 the main platform), ingnore him temporarily and concentrate on the guy on the
 floating platform.  If he falls off, kill him.  Strangely, the Power Troopers
 won't notice you unless you hit them.  Anyway, after you kill the two Wave
 Troopers, the only ones left are those on the floor.  Use the railing as
 cover (they can't shoot between the rails), and take them out one at a time.
 Another good spot to use for cover is right where the catwalk starts to slope
 downward.  It's a good angle for picking them off, and it also provides a
 decent level of protection from their blasts.  Just keep in mind that on this
 ramp, there is no wall behind you, and you can easily fall off.  If you fall
 to the bottom floor, be prepared to die, because those Power Troopers show no
 mercy.  Once they're done, do the best you can to refill your life using the
 boxes and head to the next room.

 If you picked up the Plasma Beam, you will have to fight an Elite Pirate in
 very close quarters.  Just treat him the same way as you did the first one
 with one exception:  move around the room in a circle; this one won't stand
 still for you.  If you didn't collect the Plasma Beam, just go through the
 room.  Either way, you'll end up in Central Dynamo having to fight the
 Cloaked Drone.

 Use the Central Pillar for cover (make sure that it is between you and him at
 all times).  He'll go through his normal attack pattern of lasers and machine
 guns.  Just step out from behind the pillar when he stops shooting and blast
 him a few times with the Ice Beam (or, obviously, the Plasma if you have it).
 Once he goes down, carefully navigate the electrical maze and collect the
 Power Bombs.  Save your game at the Save Point.

FOR SPEED:

 In a speed run, you cannot worry about the Turrets in Main Quarry.  If they
 hit you, they hit you.  Besides, you haven't gotten very far, so restarting
 won't be too much of a hassle.  Anyway, you can bypass most of the climbing
 in this room by using an L-lock double jump from the ledge leading to the
 Save Point to get on the upper catwalks.  You'll have to use the wall to give
 you the extra height you need.  Once at the top, perform a dash jump to get
 to the Waste Disposal door by using one of the Scan Points.

 Navigate the water maze and head through the second highest door in Ore
 Processing.  Avoid, as best you can, the Bombus in the vertical shaft by
 taking a leap of faith.  You'll probably get hit, but it's no big deal.  At
 the bottom, take the elevator down to the next level of the Mines.  In the
 first room past the elevator, blow up the box on the shelf, but don't wait
 around for the Pirates' spoils.  Head into the next room and face the Elite
 Pirate.  As soon as you regain control of Samus, turn around and head for the
 little capsule against the wall to the right of the entrance opening.  Jump
 on top of it and turn back around.  Just to the right of the catwalk is a
 vertical structure.  Jump onto this structure and subsequently onto the
 catwalk.  Beware; there's an invisible wall on the catwalk.  Facing the same
 direction, you'll have to jump backwards a little.  Don't worry about the
 lone Ice Trooper up here, he won't bother you unless you do something rash.
 Open the forcefield and exit through the Ice Door.  From here, head through
 the Ventillation Shaft to Omega Research.  This time, you don't have the
 option of killing all the Troopers, so just jump down to the door.  Shoot it
 and wait for it to open.

 When you fight the Cloaked Drone in Central Dynamo, use the same method as
 you would if it weren't a speed run.  Use the pillar for cover and pop out
 and shoot him.  When you shoot, try to get off multiple shots.  It'll make
 the fight go quicker.  There's one thing left before you can save; collecting
 the Power Bombs.  There's no quick way to navigate this electrical maze.  You
 just have to hope you get a good layout. Go as fast as you can without
 rushing.  Those little currents can do heaps of damage, especially on hard
 mode.  Once you get the Power Bombs, make sure you save at the Save Point.

 Time elapsed: :37 [13%]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Segment 8 - How About a Little Plasma, Scarecrow?

 A note about the Central Dynamo Save Point:  if you die or restart your game
 from this Save Point, Central Dynamo will have four Ice Troopers in it.
 Obviously, you don't want to fight them.  From the doorway, head to the right
 to a group of boxes.  Jump onto the shelf in the wall that contains the door
 to the Save Point.  From this shelf, you can jump to the floating platforms
 right before the exit door.

 By now, you should realize that we are backtracking through the Mines.  Once
 you get back to Elite Research, you'll have to fight an Elite Pirate to
 continue.  He's really not hard, as you can kill him before he even takes a
 step (you can do this for every Elite Pirate you meet, so keep this in mind).
 Start by walking to the left (locked-on, of course).  You should make for the
 big pillar.  When you get to the pillar, carefully step in front of it and
 keep going to the left.  All this time you should be shooting him with your
 Ice Beam.  When you reach the wall, walk forward until you are free to move
 left some more.  If done correctly, he'd shouldn't attack.  Now, it's just a
 matter of circle strafing around him while constantly blasting him.  After
 fifteen shots on normal (thirty on hard), he'll go down and you can exit the
 room.  The reason for the awkward route is because if you break his line of
 sight, he will start attacking.  As long as you stay to the left of this line
 of sight, he'll never do an attack of any kind, making him that much easier
 to beat.

 Once you reach Ventillation Shaft, you'll notice that the gas is already in
 the room, so you are going to take damage no matter what happens.  This room
 is a major obstacle in a 22% game, so jump to the next paragraph if that's
 the run you're doing.  Anyway, the obvious way to get out of the room is to
 Power Bomb the grate on the floor that leads to the switch that cuts off the
 gas.  The other way is obvious also.  Just ignore the gas and boost up the
 half-pipe to the exit door.  If you are fast enough, you will take 16 damage
 (only two boosts).  It's obviously your choice, but I would save my Power
 Bomb for later.  Anyway, exit through the Ice Beam door to reach the room
 with the Shadow Troopers.

 For a 22% game, the first thing you should do is get rid of the gas.  After
 that, morph into a ball and roll to the far side of the room.  Line yourself
 up so that you are directly in the middle of the half-pipe and against the
 lip that leads to the Energy Tank.  Now, the fun starts.

 Bomb 1:  This one's easy.  Lay this one down right where you sit.

 Bomb 2:  As soon as you lay it down, move in an arc up the side of the
          halp-pipe closest to the exit.  Try not to be moving up the
          half-pipe at an angle.  After you start to slide down, you'll notice
          that you'll suddenly grab on and shoot back up the half-pipe.
          Practice this a few times until you can pull it off.  Once you have
          a feel for the timing, you'll need to lay bomb 2 down right before
          you start to move back up.  Don't do it too soon, though.  It should
          be slightly less than half-way between the two extremes.  The exact
          placement will make or break the whole bomb jump (bomb 4 mainly).

 Bomb 3:  After you start to come back down from the second boost, place this
          one before you reach bomb 1.  The timing's a little tricky, but
          you'll want to place it relatively spaced, but not at the peak of
          the boost.

 Bomb 4:  After the second bomb explodes, it should send you up the half-pipe
          (obviously).  But, it won't always send you the same height.
          Sometimes, it'll send you up just a little, but other times, it'll
          send you up quite a bit.  I'm not exactly sure what triggers this,
          but it has something to do with placement of the second bomb.  The
          lower it is, the higher up it sends you, ironically enough.  But if
          it's too low, you won't get enough height in the end.  Anyway, place
          bomb 4 right before the peak of the boost from bomb 2.

 Bombs 5 and 6:  At this point, it gets rather easy.  Place bomb 5 right
                 before the peak of the boost from bomb 3, and place bomb 6
                 right before the peak of the boost from bomb 4.  At the peak
                 of the final boost, morph out.  You should get the "front
                 flip" morph animation.  If you get the "stand up" animation,
                 you didn't get enough height.

 Trust me, it's a lot harder than it looks on paper.  Once that's over
 (thankfully), head into the next room.

 Your objective here is to get down to the Ice Beam door (ground level and
 directly left of you as you enter the room).  The reason for exiting the
 Mines this way (Phazon Processing elevator) is that it's simply the only way.
 Without the Spider Ball, it's impossible to get up the two shafts on either
 side of Ore Processing.  Anyway, since we still don't have an easy way of
 killing the Shadow Troopers in this room, you'll have to jump down to the
 floor from the top.  Exit through that door, head through the tunnel, and
 Power Bomb your way past the obstruction.  Exit through the door at the other
 end of this tunnel to reach Phazon Processing.

 Aside from the enormous amount of backtracking, this room is the biggest
 reason for not getting the Plasma Beam.  If you have the Plasma Beam, this
 room will have 2 Plasma Troopers, 2 Power Troopers, and 1 Wave Trooper.
 Yeah, it's quite nasty.  Because we don't have the Plasma Beam, there are
 only 2 run-of-the-mill Space Pirates in here.  Yeah, it's quite pathetic.
 Just freeze and missile them.  Blow up the stack of boxes in the middle of
 the platform in front of the door you just entered to refill your Missiles,
 Power Bombs, and/or energy.

 Now, it may look impossible to get to the top exit of this room without the
 Spider Ball, but it's not.  After all, I did tell you to come here, didn't I?
 Across from the door, you should notice a huge window.  To the left (and
 right) of this window is what appears to be a scaffolding (though it is
 intended to be mainly decoration, it'll serve us nicely).  Walk over to the
 left side of the room and line yourself up with this "scaffolding."  It may
 not look like it, but you can actually stand on the rungs of it.  The easiest
 way to do this is to L-lock your view down and space jump over to it.  Your
 goal is to land on the flat rung right before the gap (it's not very high;
 it's the first flat one up from the bottom).  From this rung, space jump
 straight up.  Then, at the peak of your jump, hold forward.  You should land
 on a rung higher up and against the wall (you really can't tell; it looks
 more like an invisible ledge).  Anyway, from here, just space jump over to
 the platform by the top of the Spider Ball track.  From this ledge, take out
 the Mega Turret at the top of the room.  Once all that is taken care of, it's
 just a simple jump to the exit using the floating platform.  Follow this
 pathway until you come to an elevator.  Take it up to Magmoor Caverns.

 From this elevator, follow the corridors until you reach a Bendezium-blocked
 tunnel.  The first Zoomer from this side will ALWAYS drop a Power Bomb refill
 provided you aren't at full capacity.  Blow up the obstruction and continue
 on to Magmoor Workstation.  There are three Flying Pirates in this room.  As
 with most rooms, you have the choice of killing them or just avoiding them
 altogether.  To kill them, use the freeze and missile technique.  Whether you
 kill them or ignore them, you need to make for the door to the left of the
 one you entered (only for the Save Point).  Save your game and head back to
 the Workstation.  After all, you 22% gamers wouldn't want to do Vent Shaft
 all over again if you die, would you?  Anyway, kill or ignore the Flying
 Pirates; it's up to you.  Make your way through the other door in this room
 (the one on the left from the door to the Save Point).

 Continue down this path until you reach Geothermal Core (it should be the
 second room).  Now, you finally get to collect the Plasma Beam.  Again, this
 is another problem room in 22%, and quite a huge one, at that.  Either way,
 because you don't have the Grappling Beam nor the Spider Ball, you'll have to
 do a little improvising.  Head all the way across the room to the far door.
 Jump on the boulder to the left of the entrance, then turn around and face
 the door.  To the left, there is a box-type thing hanging on the wall.
 Double jump on the little ledge sticking out of the face of it.  Turn left
 again.  Now, you'll have to jump onto the its point.  It's a flat surface, so
 you can land on it.  Use the first jump for distance, and the second jump to
 line it up. You should already be facing the first platform with a spinner on
 it.  Use an L-lock double jump to get there.  Now, here's where the
 difference in percents plays its role.  For 23%, use the next paragraph.  For
 22%, use the few paragraphs after that.

 23%:  Manipulate the pillars as normal until you reach the one with the
 Spider Ball track on it.  To get on top of this one, jump onto the litte
 buldge in the track.  Now, face away from the pillar and hold back.  As you
 jump, push forward to get away from the track.  This will give you the extra
 height needed to make it out after the double jump.  At the peak of your
 second jump, push forward on the control stick to make it out.  After
 activating the last platform, walk to the edge of the disk and face the Ice
 Beam door above you.  Now, L-lock your view down, and Space Jump towards the
 wall.  Your goal is to land on that little ledge that runs around the whole
 room.  Walk along the wall until you reach the square piece of track (it has
 a orange-encrusted knob on it).  You'll have to Space Jump up to it, but not
 an ordinary one.  First, L-lock your view down.  Now, do a ghetto jump.
 Before the second jump, pull away from the wall and steer Samus so that you
 are in front of the block.  Now, just space jump up to the block (the knob
 helps slide you on the block).  If you miss, hug the wall and you'll land
 back on the ledge.  At any rate, space jump up to the next block (you'll have
 to jump away from the wall a little to keep from bumping your head).  Now,
 it's a simple space jump to the door.  Go into the room, collect the Plasma
 Beam, and exit.

 22%:  Jump to the second spinner and get on the little ring that's higher
 than the rest of the spinner (where it meets the pole).  Turn and face the
 third spinner.  Now, this part is tricky.  Do a running L-lock space jump
 over to it.  It's not as easy as it sounds.  You need to start your second
 jump before you begin to descend from your first.  Once you make it safely,
 morph into a ball and raise the spinner.  To do this, just get into the
 spinner and hold down.  It should go up as long as you hold down.  If it
 doesn't raise on it's own to begin with, lay a bomb.  Hold up to keep from
 rolling out.  As soon as the spinner sucks you back in, hold down.  It should
 work this time.  It should be noted that sometimes you have to hold somewhere
 between down and down-left/right to get it to work.

 Once the spinner is raised, jump on the little hump in the spider ball track.
 Now, use a ghetto jump to get on top of the newly raised spinner.  Walk over
 to the edge of the platform closest to the bomb slot atop the second spinner
 pole.  Face the door that leads to Twin Fires (where the rock, box, and spire
 are).  Lock onto the Puddle Spore nearest you if your are facing in this
 direction.  Line yourself up on the point of the platform that is closest to
 the pole of  the second spinner.  Now for the fun part.  Perform a dash jump
 to the right.  As soon as you jump, hold forward.  This will bend your jump
 towards the pole and compensate for the horrible position of the lock-on
 point.  As soon as you get directly in front of the pole, hit L and jump
 forward.  This should kill all the momentum gained from the dash jump and
 carry you directly to the pole (you may have to adjust yourself in mid-air by
 turning left or right).  Right before you come in contact with the pole,
 morph into a ball.  The goal is to get stuck on the lip of the bomb slot.
 This is much more difficult than it seems.  You have to hit this jump
 perfect.  There is no room at all for error.

 Once you raise the roof, exit the room (either door).  Go through this room
 so that the game will load the next room.  Now, go back to Geo Core.
 Magically, all the spinners are raised and the roof is still up.  Just
 collect the Plasma Beam as you normally would.

 Both %s:  From here, jump down to the right and enter the door.  Make sure
 you jump far enough so that you don't land in the lava.  Follow the tunnels
 until you come to Twin Fires Tunnel (everything room up to this one is
 simple; just take your time).  Without the Spider Ball, you'll have to risk
 the lava.  Luckily for you, it's much easier coming from this direction than
 it is from the other.  The lava is pretty deep everywhere except right in
 front of the ledge that leads to the exit door.  With that in mind, you want
 to Space Jump as far as you can and land on this shelf.  From there, it's a
 simple space jump out of the lava.

 Continue following the path past the Root Cave elevator until you get to the
 Monitor Station.  You've done all these rooms before, just in reverse order.
 Anyway, head up to the second level and make your way to Phendrana.  This has
 been a rather long trek, so save your game at the Save Point.  Once that's
 taken care of, head up to the Chozo Ice Temple.  Climb the temple the same as
 you did before, melt the ice on the Chozo statue, and collect the Artifact of
 Sun by rolling through the Morph Ball tunnel you just opened.  Head back out
 of the Temple and save again at the Shorelines.

 Get ready for more backtracking.  From the Monitor Station, take the door
 directly across from you and make your way to the Root Cave elevator.  Take
 this up to Tallon Overworld.  From here, head to your ship and save your
 game.

FOR SPEED:

 Be warned; this is one of the longer segments in the game (at least on
 paper).  On 23%, most of the rooms are quite easy, but there are a lot of
 them.  22%, on the other hand, is a much different story.  From the Central
 Dynamo Save Point, use the method described above (at the beginning of the
 normal walkthrough for this segment) to avoid the Ice Troopers.  Continue
 backtracking until you reach Omega Research.  Take out the Elite Pirate as
 quickly as possible using your Ice Beam (15 or 30 shots; make sure none of
 them miss) and the walk-around technique.  Once he goes down, head through
 the upper door that leads to the Ventillation Shaft.  For this time through
 in 23%, you don't have a choice.  Brave the toxic fumes and exit through the
 other door (it should only take you two boosts to get up the half-pipe--one
 on each wall--and only cost you about 16 life).  Now, for 22%, you have an
 option.  If you are criminally insane, brave the gas and try to do the bomb
 jumps.  If you are a little more reserved, feel free to get rid of it.

 In the room where you fought the first Elite Pirate, jump off and head
 through the Ice Beam door on the bottom level (ignore the enemies).  Boost
 through the Morph Ball tunnel to end up in Phazon Processing.  Freeze and
 missile the two Space Pirates lurking in the room.  If you need any health or
 ammo refills, blow up the stack of boxes on the platform by the entrance.
 Again, use the same method outlined in the normal walkthrough to get to the
 top of the Spider Ball track.  Again, if you are feeling insane, especially
 after that (potential) headache in Vent Shaft, there is a faster way up this
 room.  Instead of jumping off the scaffolding, keep climbing it in the same
 manner and it'll take you directly to the ledge by the exit door.  If you
 went up the other way, freeze the Turret on the ceiling and navigate the
 corridors until you reach the elevator to Magmoor Caverns.

 From the top of this elevator, make your way to Magmoor Workstation.  For a
 23% game, do not save for any reason.  It's way too easy to get back here
 (relatively speaking).  For 22%, and I cannot stress this enough, SAVE!
 Unless a sure-fire way is found to do Geo Core, it would be foolish not to
 save at this point. Avoid the Flying Pirates and take the third door to
 eventually reach Geothermal Core.  If you need to know how to get the Plasma
 Beam, look in the normal walkthrough.  As with any thing in a speed run, do
 it as quickly as possible.  Since with 22% it's based a lot of finely tuned
 skill, I would give it a few tries before I'd restart.  Don't take too long
 though.  For 23%, if you don't do it the first try, restart.  Once you've
 collected it, head through the door that eventually takes you to the Root
 Cave elevator.

 The rest of Magmoor isn't exactly a push-over.  Since you don't have time to
 kill all the Puffers, shoot down all the stalactites, and take the long way
 around these rooms, you'll have to take shortcuts across the lava.  The only
 exceptions to this rule are the rooms where you cannot make it to the exit
 using a simple space jump.  The first one is the small room with the lone
 stalactite and the Magmoor.  You'll actually have to shoot this one down
 because there's no simple way to get around the Magmoor without taking heavy
 damage.  In the next room, you can actually perform a dash jump to get to the
 ledge by the exit.  Roll under the Flame Jets, shoot down the Stalactite, and
 leap to the exit.  The next room is Twin Fires Tunnel.  Space jump out as far
 as you can to land on the shelf in front of the ledge by the exit.

 Head past the Root Cave elevator and make your way to Monitor Station.
 Freeze the Turrets so you don't have to take them out and head through the
 door that leads to Phendrana.  Take the elevator.

 If you feel like you need to, you can save at the Shorelines Save Point.  My
 suggestion:  save for 22%, but not for 23%, even though I did (normal 23% -
 :44, 14%).  Anyway, head up the Chozo Ice Temple, collect the Artifact of Sun
 by thawing out the Chozo Statue, and head back down to the Shorelines.  Take
 the elevator back down to Magmoor Caverns.

 Once back in Monitor Station, make for the door across from you (freeze only
 the first Turret).  After going through this door, continue until you reach
 the Root Cave elevator.  You've been through here before, so you should know
 what to do.  Take the elevator up to Tallon Overworld.  Quickly make your way
 back to your ship and save your game.

 Time elapsed: :47 [15%]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Segment 9 - A New Visor

 There are actually a couple of ways to do this part.  We are obviously trying
 to get to Life Grove for the X-Ray Visor.  The easiest way to get there is to
 head through the front entrance of the Chozo Ruins (via Tallon Canyon).
 However, it's much quicker to go the back way (the Ice door on the upper
 ledge by the Crashed Frigate).  Now, I know time isn't an issue, but this
 doesn't require anything that you can't pull off.

 From the ship, head to the left and enter the little ravine near the water.
 Go through the door down here, keep following the path, and you'll end up at
 the big lake in front of the Crashed Frigate.  Take out the Flying Pirates
 with your Plasma Beam and head into the left-hand side of the water.  Once
 you reach the other side, use the ledges to climb out.  Kill the injured
 Space Pirates in front of the Ice Beam door.  Now, to get up to that door at
 the very top.

 This is sort of difficult to explain, so bear with me.  Directly to the left
 of the lower Ice door (if you are facing it) is a set of jagged rocks.  If
 you look up at the top of them, you'll notice the one at the top looks like
 it could be a convenient stepping stone (it sticks out, so you can't miss
 it).  Perform a ghetto jump to get up on top of it.  It's a small spot to
 land, but it's not that hard to reach.  With the Frigate on your right,
 L-lock double jump to the corner where the Frigate meets the land (it's
 slightly to the right if your view is so that the water is on your left) and
 you should land on a shelf of sorts.  Space jump up the slope and look
 directly left to meet another wall.  Space jump up this one also and you
 should be right by the door.  If all that sounds confusing, don't worry;
 you're not alone.  You have to see it in action to fully understand it.

 Anyway, go in the door and you'll be in the room with a Missile Expansion
 sitting in the middle of a huge patch of poisonous weeds.  Clear the weeds
 out with your beam, roll through the hole, jump over the expansion (yes,
 stand up), roll through the other hole, and exit the room.  Follow this path
 until you reach the elevator.

 Once in the Chozo Ruins, save at the Save Point and head out into the
 Reflecting Pool.  Exit through the door on the lower level and make your way
 to the Hall of Elders.  From this upper ledge, take out all the Ghosts.  Most
 of the time, you'll have decent cover because they'll be on the ground.  When
 one does appear on this ledge, dodging his attack isn't too hard.  After you
 take them out, activate the red switch to gain access to the Artifact of
 World.  Collect it, head back to the Reflecting Pool, and save at the Save
 Point.

 From the Save Point, head back out into the Reflecting Pool and take the
 right-hand door.  Follow this path until you reach the Great Tree Hall.  Take
 out the three enemies you see and get on the ledge where the right-most
 flower was.  Now, look out at the structure with the Spider Ball tracks.  It
 may not look like it, but you can stand on the horizontal piece connecing the
 two vertical pieces.  This is a much smaller platform than it looks; you can
 easily slide off the back.  Once you're on that, turn and face the right-most
 piece of track.  Hold L, jump out to the right, then jump back to the left to
 land on top of this piece (you'll want to jump out so you don't bump your
 head and have to start over).  This time, pull back on your first jump.  When
 you reach the peak of your first jump, space jump straight up.  You should be
 above the ledge that leads to the Life Grove.  Now, just push forward to make
 it up there.

 From here on, if you are doing a 23% game, consider yourself lucky.  Just do
 Life Grove like you normally would.  Power Bomb the block and roll through
 the Morph Ball tunnels to end up in the chamber that houses the X-Ray Visor.
 Collect it and drop a Power Bomb to take out all the walls.  Head out to the
 lake in the middle of the Life Grove and bomb the symbol in the water.  Use
 the Boost Ball in the spinner that appears to raise the platform with the
 Artifact of Chozo.  Space jump from the lip of the lake to get the Artifact.
 Now, go back to where you collected the X-Ray Visor.  We don't want to fight
 the Ghosts in this room, so we're going to get to the exit by another method.
 First, space jump on top of that rock spire connected to the patch of ground
 where the X-Ray Visor rested.  From here, perform an L-lock double jump over
 to the ledge by the Morph Ball tunnel.

 If you are doing 22%, you are in for a world of hurt.  Life Grove itself
 isn't so bad; it's getting there that's the problem (Life Grove Tunnel).
 Because there's a huge dip in this room, you'll have to get from one side to
 the other without falling in (that's the easiest way, anyway).  Going into
 Life Grove, this is easy.  From the very edge of the entrance to the pit,
 perform a bomb ladder jump to get take the top branch.  This is a relatively
 easy jump, but you have to make sure not to hit your head on the overhang.
 If you fall into the pit, you can bomb jump out, but it is very similar to
 the bomb jumping in Ventillation Shaft.  Next up is Life Grove itself.

 There is a very specific way you have to do this room (at least, as far as we
 know).  After you collect the X-Ray Visor and Power Bomb the walls, head
 directly to the middle of the pool.  Before you get to the water, space jump
 out over the hatch that contains the spinner.  Morph into a ball as you hit
 the water.  Continue to hold forward until you reach the lip underwater.
 Roll up on this lip a little way, then head direclty back to the hatch.  Get
 on the side closest to the exit and wedge yourself right up next to the lip
 of the hatch.  Lay down a bomb and inch clockwise around this lip (don't go
 far; stop right before you reach the small ridge that runs from this hatch to
 the edge of the circle).

 Once the platform starts to rise, it should carry you up just a little, then
 drop you off.  At this point, start holding somewhere between Up and
 Up-Right.  When you regain control of Samus, this should move you into the
 spinner, and it should immediately start spinning like the spinner in
 Geothermal Core.  If it doesn't work on the first try, it can still be done,
 but no one knows how exactly.  Once you collect the Artifact, head back to
 the covered dome where you collected the X-Ray Visor.  Use the same method
 mentioned above in the 23% walkthrough to get out.  Now for the run part; you
 have to do Life Grove Tunnel again.

 This time, it gets a little tricky.  Because the entrance is much lower from
 this direction, you'll have to perform a triple bomb jump ladder (only the
 double bomb jump part is actually a ladder).  If you fall in the pit from
 this direction, you can again bomb jump your way out.  It's a little trickier
 to get out this way, as the exit it much higher, but it can indeed be done (I
 did it this way, actually, because I was tired of restarting).

 Once back in Great Tree Hall, jump down and head through the now-opened gate
 (take out the enemies on the way, if necessary) to reach the lower-half of
 the room.  Well, it won't be opened in 22%; you'll just have to do the dbj
 over the bars again.  Head through the first Ice Beam door you come to.
 Follow this path until you reach the elevator to the Mines.  Ride it down,
 work your way to Main Quarry, and save at the Save Point exactly as you did
 on your first trip through the mines.

FOR SPEED:

 Because it's such a long trip around to the front of the Ruins, it is a must
 to go the back way.  From the ship, head to the left and down into the
 ravine.  Keep on this path and you'll wind up at the Frigate Crash Site.
 Take out the Flying Pirates and get on the little piece of land that sticks
 out from the shore (it's the ramp for the grappling points).  Turn left and
 perform a dash jump to the right using the Sap Sac.  Hold forward as you dash
 and Space Jump to clear most of the water.  When you get out of the water,
 use the method described above to get into the ruins.

 Save at the Reflecting Pool Save Point (normal 23% - :49, 15%) and proceed to
 the Hall of Elders.  Have your Plasma Beam out when you enter the room.  This
 obviously means you need to ignore the Ghosts.  Anyway, shoot the red switch
 as you space jump over to the ledge by the switches.  Once the barrier is
 down, pull out the Ice Beam and immediately morph into a ball.  Now, activate
 the switch.  This cuts down on wait time (which means less damage for you).
 Morph out of the ball while rolling off the ledge.  Again, less wait time
 this way.  Open the door and collect the Artifact of World.  Head back to the
 Reflecting Pool.

 If you want, you can save, but there's no need.  Head through the upper door
 at the far end of the room.  Keep going until you come to an elevator.  Take
 it down and make your way into Great Tree Hall.  Take out the three enemies
 in the upper half of this room and use the Spider Ball structure to get up to
 the door to the Life Grove.  Use whatever method necessary to get into Life
 Grove in a 22% game; however, don't fall in the pit.  If you do, immediately
 restart.  Collect the X-Ray Visor and drop a Power Bomb.  Activate the
 platform that holds the Artifact of Chozo (again, using the required method
 depending on the type of game you are doing), collect it, and head under the
 canopy where the X-Ray Visor was.  Use an L-lock double jump from the tall
 rock to make it to the ledge with the Morph Ball tunnel.  Now, get back out.
 I really pity you speed-running 22%ers.  I really do.

 Once back in Great Tree Hall, ignore the enemies in the top half of the room
 and jump down to the floor.  Again, ignore the enemies in the second half of
 the room and enter the first Ice Beam door to which you come.  You know the
 drill; follow this until you come to an elevator.  Ride it down, work your
 way to Main Quarry, and use the supports to get to the Save Point.

 Time elapsed: :52 [18%]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Segment 10 - Yes, You Will Get Owned Repeatedly

 No, I'm not joking.  Without the Spider Ball, there is absolutely no way into
 Elite Research to get the Artifact of Warrior save the path that leads
 through the Mines Security Station.  There's one small problem with that
 path, however; three Wave Troopers await you with very little cover.  Well,
 there's more than one problem.  The doors also lock, preventing your exit.
 Even on normal difficulty, these guys can give you loads of trouble.  Anyway,
 on with the walkthrough.

 From the Save Point at Main Quarry, head through the door on the lower level
 (after taking out the Mega Turrets and deactivating the forcefield, of
 course).  In the first room, step out and scan the panel on the right-hand
 wall to deactivate the Turrets in the middle of the room.  The next room is
 where the fun begins.  This room consists of two sets of enemies, which can
 only be loaded one at a time.  The first is a set of Shadow Troopers.  These
 will trigger within the first few steps and also lock the doors at either end
 of the room.  The second is the nasty set; Wave Troopers.  These guys trigger
 after you turn the corner at the top of the ramp.  Fortunately for you, they
 only appear if all of the Shadow Troopers are defeated.  To capitalize on
 this, kill off two of the three Shadow Troopers (just a couple shots with the
 Plasma Beam, then let them burn).  With the other one still alive, run for
 the other exit (not the one from which you entered and not the Plama Door
 behind the forcefield).  Drop a Power Bomb to blow up the wall to the left.
 Scan the computer there to open the forcefield on the Plasma Door.  Now, if
 the Power Bomb didn't take out the Shadow Trooper, you take care of him.

 Since you passed the trigger for the Wave Troopers, they will automatically
 be loaded and you'll start at the top of the ramp regardless of where you
 were before the cutscene.  Oddly enough, this will still trigger if you are
 inside the room with the Flame Thrower (open the door and jump to activate
 it).  Try it for yourself to see some small glitches (the glitches seem to
 vary depending on what visor you have equipped when it starts, though I
 didn't test it more than 4 times).  Either way, once the Wave Troopers are
 activated, head back to the room that was behind the forcefield.  Open the
 door, then face away from it.  As the Wave Troopers pour down, shoot them
 until they drop.  If you need cover, step inside the room behind you.  By
 using this room, the Wave Troopers will attack one at a time, though you may
 have to lure them out by walking out into the main room.

 Once they are taken care of, you can do one of two things.  You can either
 continue on this path through the Mines, or you can head back to Main Quarry
 and save.  If you go save, this room will reload with Wave and Ice Troopers,
 but the doors won't lock, so you can just ignore them.  I suggest saving,
 unless you're doing a 22% game.  Then, it gets a little iffy.  Since you
 don't have the Boost Ball, you'll probably take more damage.  Both methods
 have their pros and cons, so, choose your poison.  If you don't save, just
 skip down a few paragraphs until I start talking about this room again.
 Anyway, as you are heading back to Main Quarry, you'll have to fight a few
 Shadow Troopers, but they are easily dispatched with your Plasma Beam.  Climb
 up to the Save Point and save your game.

 From the Save Point, head back to the room where you fought the Shadow
 Troopers.  When you open the door to the next room, switch to the Wave Beam
 and roll into a ball.  If you remember where the Shadow Troopers dropped down
 from the first time through here, that's where the Wave Troopers are.  Roll
 through the tightest line possible and you'll avoid them all.  Boost up the
 first little ramp to keep the last Trooper from blocking your path.  More
 than likely, they'll shoot you a few times, but you should be able to get
 past them with well over 50 life.  As you are going up the ramp, I'm sure
 you'll notice the Mega Turret.  Try to time your roll so that you avoid its
 shots.  Believe me, it's much easier said than done.  After you turn the
 corner, the first Ice Trooper will drop down.  Swing out to the right so that
 his close range attack will miss.  Once you're by him, you shouldn't have to
 worry about the Turret any more.  Simply navigate the obstacles and take to
 the outside to avoid the Ice Trooper at the end.  As you turn the corner, yet
 another Ice trooper will fall.  This time, take to the inside to avoid him.
 You're almost there.  The next maze of obstacles isn't quite as difficult to
 navigate as the last one.  You can pretty much roll in a straight line
 through them.  Avoid one final Ice Trooper, roll under the ledge where the
 Wave Door is, and stand up.  Quickly shoot the door and jump through.

 From here on out, it's pretty easy compared to that room.  In the next room,
 whenever you break the supports, a Shadow Trooper will appear.  Take these
 guys down for some easy life.  Go through the Ice Door at the end of the
 room.  Kill both Pirates on the ground; then, look up and take out all four
 Turrets from the ground.  Once that's taken care of, drop a Power Bomb to
 unleash the Phazon Elite.  This guy is much faster than the regular Elite
 Pirates, and he has more life, but he's still not that difficult.  The main
 thing to worry about is the fact that there are a lot of obstacles in the
 way, so you'll need to be aware of your location at all times.  Once he's
 gone, you need to collect the Artifact of Warrior and exit through the top of
 the room.

 If you've ever done this room before, you know how much of a pain those Wave
 Troopers are on the second level.  Luckily for you, you don't have to fight
 them if you don't want to (if you do want to fight them, by all means, do
 so).  To keep from fighting them, you'll have to avoid activating that first
 set of platforms.  From where you are standing (if you went directly to the
 Artifact from returning from the cut scene), go the the vertical panel just a
 little to the right of where you are looking.  On the back side, there are
 rails you can stand on.  Jump up to the second rail and walk to the left-hand
 side (still facing the center of the room).  Notice that pipe to the left
 that makes a oddly convenient lightning bolt shape.  L-lock your view down
 (so that you can see where you are landing), and double jump to the pipe.
 From here jump to the middle platform.  The blue gate will activate, but
 don't panic; the Wave Troopers will not appear.  Continue up as usual.

 On the top level of this room is a lone Power Trooper.  Fighting him directly
 would be suicide, so take him out from the second level.  Space jump to get a
 good view and let him have it.  His shots should go over your head as you
 fall back down.  After he's dead, line up the plasma cannon and take out that
 wall.  Exit through the Ice door and drop down the shaft.  Head through the
 door at the bottom to reach Ore Processing.

 Obviously, there's a way up or you wouldn't even be here.  First, head over
 to the rotational controls on the ground floor.  Bomb it once to line up the
 blue track.  Now, jump on top of the control.  If you look out at the central
 pillar, you'll notice three pipes running down.  Follow these pipes down and
 you'll see that they turn to the right.  You want to jump to the small spot
 where these pipes stop (the flat part).  This can be made with a single jump,
 but use a double jump just to be safe.  Once you make it to that spot, turn
 around and face the rotational controls on the second level.  You have to
 clear the rail because the part in front of it that looks flat isn't flat at
 all.  L-lock your view up somewhere near the closest square on the wall
 behind the controls.  Do a running leap and space jump so that you push
 against the part of the ledge that sticks out.  You should slide right over
 the rail.  If not, just try again.  This may take a few tries, as it's quite
 difficult.

 Once you get up to the controls, follow the catwalk to where the red spider
 ball track ends (it should already be lined up).  Walk forward all the way in
 this little structure and space jump onto the railing.  Turn 90 degress to
 the right and back up a little.  Your goal is to space jump on top of this
 track.  It's flat, so you can easily stand on it.  To do so, jump backwards
 on the first jump and jump forwards on the second jump.  If you over-shoot
 the track, you'll fall all the way to the floor, so do this carefully.  Once
 you are on top of the track, it's just a simple space jump to the catwalk.
 From there, space jump over to the Ice door to your right.  Enter the door,
 fall down the shaft, and take the elevator down to the next level of the
 Mines.

 From this point on to Central Dynamo, every thing is the same as it was the
 first time through the Mines with a couple of exceptions.  First, you have
 the Plasma Beam, so you can take out the Shadow Troopers in the room where
 you fought the first Elite Pirate.  Second, because you have the Plasma Beam,
 you have to fight another Elite Pirate in the corridor before Central Dynamo.
 You don't have very much room to work with, so be careful.  Pay special
 attention to where you are when he does his Wave Quake.  You want to be far
 enough away from the wall so that you don't get hung on anything when you
 jump.  Once he goes down, head into Central Dynamo.  Don't let the Ice
 Troopers here worry you; just make a mad dash for the Save Point.

FOR SPEED:

 From the Main Quarry Save Point, head to the Mine Security Station for the
 battle with the Wave Troopers.  Either way you want to do this you can, but I
 might as well present you with the options.  The first option is to do it the
 same way as you would in a normal run.  Deactivate the forcefield and use the
 door to the Flamethrower as cover.  Or, you can do it the old fashioned way.
 Take out the Shadow Troopers in an orderly fashion, then proceed to fight the
 Wave Troopers mano a mano.  On normal difficulty, I suggest the second
 option.  It's definitely the quicker of the two.  On hard, if you try it this
 way, it may take you more tries than you want to put into it.

 I should also bring up another point.  Do you want to waste a little time to
 go back and save, or do you want to keep going and risk dying and having to
 do this all over?  This is a tough call on either difficulty.  If you feel
 confident in your Wave-battling skills or just incredibly lucky, keep going.
 It'll definitely save you time.  If you go back and save, I'm going to assume
 you know how to get back through this room while avoiding the enemies (if
 not, just look in the normal portion of the walkthrough).

 Anyway, quickly make your way to Elite Research.  Eliminate the Pirates on
 the ground, then all the Turrets above.  Bomb the tank and fight the Phazon
 Elite for the Artifact of Warrior.  There's really nothing different with
 this guy in a speed run than there is in a normal run.  Just don't miss,
 really.

 Once you've collected the Artifact, use the trick mentioned in the normal
 walkthrough to avoid the Wave Troopers.  Depending on what kind of mood you
 are in, you can avoid fighting the Power Trooper if you are quick (and
 lucky).  After destroying the wall, head through the door and down the shaft
 to reach Ore Processing.  Again, use the method mentioned in the normal
 walkthrough to get to the next Ice door.  Drop down yet another shaft and
 take the elevator down to the next level of the Mines.  You'll have to avoid
 the first Elite Pirate once again, in case you have forgotten.  From here to
 Central Dynamo, you should only fight one enemy:  the Elite Pirate in the
 room before Central Dynamo.  Save at the Save Point in Central Dynamo once
 he's out of the way.

 Time elapsed: 1:01 [19%]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Segment 11 - The Trek to Omega Pirate

 You may want to restart the game at this point so that the Ice Troopers will
 reset, meaning they won't be aware of you when you first enter the room.
 Avoid these guys, Power Bomb the Bendezium blocking the far door, and go
 through.  In the very next room, there are four Mega Turrets.  There's no
 need to kill them, however.  Just roll under the floor (using the hole to the
 right).  When you come out of the hole, scan the switch that disables the
 Turrets.  Destroy the boxes to get any refills you need.

 In the next room (Metroid Quarantine A), drop the forcefield and let the
 Metroids do the dirty work for you; that is, let them handle the Space
 Pirates.  Then, stand at the top of the ramp and wait for the Metroids to
 come up.  Freeze and missile them.  One they're gone, go to where the
 forcefield was and take out the Metroid you see flying around.  Climb up on
 the mushroom to your left and, with the help of your X-Ray Visor, jump across
 the platforms to the other side.  Since you would normally need the Spider
 Ball to get out of this room, you'll have to find another way to that Ice
 door.  There are two options, both of which involve dash jumps from that beam
 overhead.  Both have their advantages and disadvantages.  The first method
 involves luring a Metroid up to the top, freezing him, and using him for the
 dash jump (it's not nearly as hard as it sounds).  The other method involves
 killing off all the Metroids and performing a dash jump while scanning the
 Missile Expansion.  Method one is by far the easiest to pull off if you can
 get the Metroid where you want it.

 Method one:
   Start by jumping on top of the mushroom to your right (your X-Ray Visor
   should still be out).  Turn and jump on the floating platform; then, jump
   onto the ledge by the base of the Spider Ball tracks.  Morph into a ball
   and drop a Power Bomb.  This will kill the first Metroid, but it shouldn't
   kill both.  If it does kill both, restart.  If it doesn't, roll through the
   passage and drop another Power Bomb.  Hopefully, this won't kill the one
   that's left.  If you are playing on hard mode, freeze the Metroid now so he
   won't bother you while you are trying to cross the Spider Ball bridge.  On
   normal mode, he'll die faster, so don't freeze him yet.  Quickly cross the
   bridge (you can actually stand on it) and freeze the Metroid.  Pull out
   your X-Ray Visor and ride the platform up to the Missile Expansion.  Freeze
   the Metroid again, turn around, and jump out to the beam that runs across
   the room (you can't miss it).  Turn around and freeze the Metroid one last
   time (make sure he's as close to you as possible when you do).  Now,
   quickly walk up the beam (away from the door you entered).  Perform a dash
   jump from the frozen Metroid.

 Method two:
   Same as the other one.  Start by jumping on the mushroom to your right.
   Turn, jump to the floating platform, and jump again to the ledge by the
   Spider Ball tracks.  Drop a Power Bomb.  If it kills both, that's good.  If
   not, head to the next wall and drop another one.  If this one doesn't kill
   the one that's left, do it yourself.  Head up to the beam as in method one.
   This time, walk all the way to the end of it (again, away from the door you
   entered).  Now, face the Expansion.  You shouldn't be able to see any of it
   right now.  Lightly pull back to start inching along the wall.  Then you
   can see enough of it, your Visor will select it, so to speak.  Now, just do
   a dash jump towards the door.  As you dash, pull back to "bend" the dash
   jump closer to the ledge.  It is MUCH easier when you do this.

 Head through the next room to reach an elevator.  Take it down to the third
 and final level of the Mines.

 The good news is it's fairly straight forward.  The bad news is there are a
 lot of tough rooms to worry with.  The first tough room you'll come to is
 Fungal Hall A.  This room has four nasty Hunter Metroids in it.  Freeze and
 missile each one of them.  Any other method takes too long, and, as a result,
 they'll utterly destroy you.  Too bad that's not the only difficult part of
 this room.  As you near the exit, you'll notice the huge gap between the last
 two mushrooms.  Luckily, you can make it with an L-lock double jump with a
 twist.  If you are having too much trouble with that, you can do a dash jump
 from the lower mushroom.  Exit the room, Power bomb the rock, and roll
 through the Morph Ball tunnel.

 On the other side of this tunnel lies Fungal Hall B.  Thankfully, there are
 only normal Metroids in here.  Take them out one at a time using any method
 you choose.  As with Fungal Hall A, you have to get on a mushroom that's
 pretty high up to exit the room.  Fortunately for you, you can reach the last
 mushroom by Space Jumping from a small rock against the nearby wall (to the
 left of the mushroom if you are facing the exit door).  Take out the Void
 Bombus in the next room, avoid the Phazon, and open the door to the next
 room.

 This is Metroid Quarantine B.  If you stand in the doorway and look up, you
 should be able to see two Plasma Troopers hanging from the ceiling.  You can
 take out the first one without even stepping through the door.  Just shoot
 him once to knock him off the ceiling, then use the door and the mushroom for
 cover from his shots.  The second one isn't so easy.  You'll actually have to
 fight him out in the open, so you'd better be good at dodging Trooper fire.
 It's not that hard; a dash will normally do the trick.  Across that huge
 Phazon pit are two more Troopers.  Because of the limited range of your
 Plasma Beam, these guys can be a royal pain to kill.  First, take out the one
 that jumps onto the platform.  You should be able to hit him from the right
 side of the pillar with the Spider Ball track.  To get the other one, you'll
 have to use the left-hand wall as cover.  Once both are dead, you need to
 find a way across the pit.

 From the Spider Ball pillar, turn and face the door from which you entered.
 To your left is a relatively big stone (it should be the one right in the
 bend in the wall).  Jump on this stone and face the Spider Ball pillar.
 Directly above you is a pipe that runs horizontally along the wall.  To get
 up there, you'll have to pull away from the wall on your first jump, then
 push back against it on your second jump to land on the ledge.  From here,
 you can space jump to the horizontal Spider Ball track.  Space jump to the
 last square platform, then L-lock double jump across the pit.

 Behind the forcefield is another Plasma Trooper and two Wave Troopers.  The
 Wave Troopers won't attack until you enter the room, so worry about them
 last.  Use the base of the raised platform as cover for the Plasma Trooper.
 Once he's gone, just go directly to the Save Point.  By the time the Wave
 Troopers notice you, you'll be inside the room.  Save and reset.  When you
 reset, all those Troopers are replaced by Metroids.  Now, just ignore them
 all and head through the upper door.  Kill the Plasma Trooper, melt the Ice,
 and go back and save.  The Plasma Trooper won't reappear.

FOR SPEED:

 This section can be rather tricky, as the enemies from here on out don't mess
 around.  Central Dynamo should be rather easy; it's the same as the normal
 walkthrough.  Just boost over to the door, Power Bomb it, and head through.
 Avoid the Turrets in the next room by rolling under the floor, and head into
 Metroid Quarantine A.

 This time, don't wait around for the Metroids.  Just motor down the ramp and
 freeze and missile the two Metroids and the remaining Pirate.  Walk out into
 the main part of the room and blast the closest Metroid using whatever method
 you choose.  Hope one of the enemies so far has dropped a missile refill
 and/or a Power Bomb refill.  Navigate the platforms and head up to the ledge
 with the Spider Ball track.  Power Bomb both walls.  Use whatever method you
 choose to get to the exit door.  Dash jumping from a Metroid would be the
 safest way, but dash jumping from the Missile Expansion would be the
 quickest, assuming you could pull it off on the first try.  Head through the
 next room while avoiding those annoying Burrowers.  Take the elevator down to
 the lowest level of the Mines.

 Continue as normal until you reach Fungal Hall A.  Even in a speed run, make
 sure you take out all the Metroids.  Also, make sure you nail that L-lock
 double jump with a twist to that last mushroom on the first try.  It eats up
 a lot of time if you fall.  Actually, now that I think about it, a dash jump
 using the Glider would be much easier.  Follow the path until you come to
 Fungal Hall B.

 This is another tricky room.  Pull out your Ice Beam and make for the door.
 Freeze any Metroid along the way.  Don't bother killing them, just freeze.
 If you miss, don't worry about it and move on.  You shouldn't have to slow
 down at all.  Use the rock beside the last mushroom to get up to the door.
 If you are low on energy, kill one of the Void Bombus in the next room.
 Collect what it drops and move on.  Just ignore them otherwise.  You'll have
 to risk a step in the Phazon, but if you jump out quickly enough, it won't do
 very much damage.

 Regardless of your skill level, take out the first two Troopers in Metroid
 Quarantine B.  Now, the next few Troopers can be avoided if you feel like it.
 If you want to take them out (and frankly, I wouldn't blame you), use the
 same method as you would normally; use the Spider Ball pillar for cover and
 step out and blast them.  To cross the big pit quickly, you can jump off one
 of the pieces of Phazon sticking out of the pit (they are easily noticable).
 Once you deactivate the forcefield, you again have the choice of ignoring the
 rest of the Troopers.  These are easy, but if you are brave enough to ignore
 them all, I commend you.  I suggest only to ignore the ones behind the
 forcefield.  Save.

 Time elapsed: 1:05 [19%]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Segment 12 - The Omega Pirate

 From the Save Point, head back through that upper door to fight the Omega
 Pirate.  Make sure you have AT LEAST three Power Bombs before entering (the
 boxes outside the Save Point will drop them if you are short).

 This is quite possibly the hardest part of the game, only because there is an
 insane amount of luck involved.  I'm sure you know the deal by now.  OP walks
 around the room a little, doing numerous Wave Quakes.  Once you take out all
 his armor, he disappears to recharge.  Meanwhile, he spawns 2 to 3 Troopers
 of a random color and type (I'll explain type in a minute).  After a short
 amount of time, he'll appear at a Phazon pool, but he's can only be damaged
 when you have the X-Ray Visor equipped.  This repeats until he goes down.

 Now, luck is involved in the kind of Trooper he spawns.  Obviously, there are
 four colors:  red (Plasma), yellow (Power), purple (Wave), and white (Ice).
 Fortunately for you, there is also another property involved with these
 Troopers:  slashers and shooters.  If a Trooper is a slasher, he will NEVER
 fire his weapon; he will only try to come up next to you and, well, slash
 you.  These are good.  Conversely, if a Trooper is a shooter, he will mostly
 stick to shooting at you (he'll still slash at close range, like normal
 Troopers).  These are bad, as they will tear you to shreds, especially in
 hard mode.  The best you can hope for are all slashing Plasma Troopers.  If
 you get these kind for every round, you're coming with me on my next trip to
 Vegas (well, it would actually be my first, but who's counting?).

 Now, a little about killing Troopers.  This is easily the toughest part of
 this battle, so it requires its own section.  If you get more than one
 shooter in a round, you'll want to avoid the Troopers altogether.  If you
 have exactly one shooter in a round, concentrate on him first unless you have
 at least one Plasma Trooper.  Because Plasma Troopers are so easy to kill,
 getting them out of the way early allows for an easier time down the road.
 If you get no shooters in a round, consider it a freebee.  A side note to
 this paragraph:  avoiding Troopers.  This is quite simple.  Roll into a ball
 and make a big loop around the room (from the door to the far Phazon pool).
 When you turn around at each end of the room, you'll be able to see every
 Trooper.  Therefore, dodging is a piece of cake.

 Here's some good news:  this battle is a lot easier than it used to be in the
 early days of low percent runs.  You can now use Power Bombs to damage OP,
 meaning you only have to fight three rounds of Troopers.  Well, it's really
 only two rounds; you can just avoid the ones for the final round.  To damage
 OP with a Power Bomb, here's what you do.  Roll up next to him at the Phazon
 pool.  Drop one normal bomb; then, at the peak of your jump, lay down a Power
 Bomb.  The resulting blast should take off 40 percent of his life!  Oddly
 enough, it does the same damage on either difficulty.

 That's all well and good, but there's still the matter of pulling it off.
 For the first round, you'll always get two Troopers of the same color.
 Without taking too much damage yourself (I'd say more than 50 health is too
 much damage), follow the rules in the above paragraph and do as much damage
 to them as you can before OP appears at a pool (you'll know he appears by the
 sound he makes and by your radar). Then, ignore them.  Hit OP with a Power
 Bomb, then go back to work on the Troopers (or just keep on ignoring them).
 Once OP reappears and starts walking around, stay locked on to the Troopers
 so you can dodge their shots easily.  Don't worry about killing them; OP will
 do it for you with his Wave Quake.  For the second and subsequent rounds, OP
 will summon three Troopers, at least two of which will be the same color.
 For these, take a couple of pot shots at them until a shooter emerges (if
 none of them is a shooter, then it's good for you).  Once you've determined
 the shooter(s), if there are any, follow the above rules and do as much
 damage to them as you can.  Then, Power Bomb OP and turn your attention back
 to the Troopers.  For the final round, you can just ignore all the Troopers.
 As soon as the Power Bomb hits OP, the fight ends and the Troopers are no
 longer a problem.

 Once you're finished with OP, head immediately back to the Save Point in
 Metroid Quarantine B.  Either avoid or kill the Metroids along the way.

FOR SPEED:

 Although it's not that big a deal, you'll have to take out that Plasma
 Trooper guarding the door to OP's lair.  Try not to take a whole lot of
 damage.  Now, for OP himself.

 Contrary to what was in the last version of this FAQ, there is a differecnce
 in the way you fight OP if you're doing a speed run.  Well, that's not
 entirely true.  For 23%, you can actually kill him in only two rounds, but
 this requires insane speed.  As soon as OP appears at a Phazon Pool in the
 second round, go after him.  Once it hits, stay in ball form and go to one of
 the other pools.  As soon as you hear the sound OP makes when he appears,
 boost over to the pool and lay a Power bomb at his feet (there's no time to
 use a bomb jump).  The bomb should finish him off.  Sadly, for 22%, you don't
 have enough time to do this, so you'll have to settle for another round with
 him and his minions.  Head directly back to the Save Point.

 Time elapsed: 1:10 [19%]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Segment 13 - It's All Down Hill from Here

 Exactly what the title says is true.  If you've gotten this far, there's
 absolutely no reason not to finish the game.  I know you must be anxious to
 get out of the Mines, but there's one thing we must do.  From the Save Point,
 start backtracking through until you get to the Morph Ball tunnel that
 connects the two Fungal Halls.  All the rooms along the way are filled with
 Metroids, so take them out at your leisure.  Anyway, once in that room, bomb
 all the little rock-like structures and collect the Artifact of Newborn.
 Time for a double dose of Metroids.  You'll have to fight them again on your
 way back to the Save Point in Metroid Quarantine B.

 After saving, head back to the room where you fought OP.  Ride the platform
 up to the top of the room and follow the catwalks to the exit.  Avoid the
 Energy Tank in the next room, scan the switch to open the gate, and head to
 the door.  This next room is Phazon Processing.  This time through, you're
 not so lucky as to have only normal Space Pirates.  You have to deal with the
 full assortment of Troopers (2 Power, 2 Plasma, and 1 Wave).  Before you open
 the door, look up and to the right.  As soon as you open it, you'll see a
 Turret staring directly at you.  Take it out using the door as cover.  Now,
 inch around to the right until you can see that Plasma Trooper on the right
 platform.  Again, use the door for cover, jump up, and shoot him.  Once he's
 down, inch out even more to the right until you can see the Power Trooper on
 the left platform.  The same rule applies here; use the door for cover.  You
 shouldn't get hit at all.

 Get up on the platform where the Plasma Trooper was.  From here, face the
 window.  Inch to the right side of the platform until you can lock on to the
 Plasma Trooper on the catwalk above.  Quickly take him out.  Now, 90 percent
 of the time, the Wave Trooper up there with him will notice you, take a few
 shots, then run behind the boxes and just stand there.  Once he does this,
 climb on the highest floating platform right in front of you.  From there,
 jump over to your left above where the Turret was.  Look along the wall back
 towards the middle door, and you'll notice a little shelf in the wall that is
 lower than the others.  Jump in this hole, then to the platform where the two
 Troopers were.  Now, inch around the right side of the boxes until you can
 see enough of the Trooper to lock on.  Simply kill him using these boxes for
 cover.  If you need any life or anything else, blow them up and collect what
 they leave behind.

 There's still one more Power Trooper.  Face the window and walk out along the
 left-hand branch of the catwalk.  After you walk out a little way, turn
 around and look up.  You'll want to stand in such a spot so that you won't
 lock on to the Trooper when you hold L.  When you hold L, make sure that it
 is lined up so that you'll shoot right over the edge of the platform on which
 he's standing.  Now, start wailing on him with your Power Beam.  Every once
 in a while, he'll get lucky and shoot you, but don't worry; I highly doubt
 he'll do it enough times to kill you.  Once they're all dead, use the same
 method as you did before to leave through the upper door.

 Once back in Magmoor, head to the Workstation and save your game behind the
 elevator to Phendrana.  This time, ride it up instead of going back to the
 Workstation.  Once in Phendrana, your goal is to get into that hole behind
 the elevator.  To get up there without the Spider Ball, jump on the rock
 directly behind the elevator.  It may not look like you can stand on it, but
 it's definitely possible.  Now, turn back around, face one of the skinny
 poles beside the elevator and L-lock your view down.  Do the same thing that
 you did for the rock spire in Geothermal Core; use the first jump for
 distance and the second jump for fine tuning.  Once you land on top of that,
 turn back around and double jump to the hole.  Now all you have to do is roll
 into a ball and go through.

 Follow this path until you reach the Frozen Pike.  Jump down to the left-hand
 side of the bridge below you.  Then, jump down to the purple door on the
 opposite side of the room from the door you entered.  Head through the next
 room to reach Frost Cave.  From the ledge by the door, freeze and missile the
 Hunter Metroid.  Now, shoot down the Stalactite by the door to the next area
 (you can also shoot down the one to the Save Point, if you want to save).
 Once you're finished, head through the door that leads to the Morph Ball
 tunnel.  Roll through here to reach Phendrana's Edge.  From the door, take
 out the two Flying Pirates.

 Without the Grappling Beam, we'll have to find a new way up to the Plasma
 door at the top of the room.  First, head to the broken bridge.  Get on the
 side with the most exposed tree branches and look back towards the other side
 of the bridge.  Now, look to the left under the floating platform.  You see
 that tree against the wall over there?  That's where you have to jump.  To
 get that far, stand on the left-most branch (it's a little lower than the
 rest of the bridge) and L-lock double jump over there.  Now, climb up the
 little branch that runs up to the wall.  Turn around and Space Jump up to the
 platform.  From here, there are just a few simple jumps left.  Power Bomb the
 wall at the top and enter the room to collect the Artifact of Spirit.  Once
 you've collected it, head back to the Frozen Pike and enter the door on the
 wall to your left (it's above you, so you'll have to do some climbing).

 Follow this little corridor to reach the Research Facility (where the Thermal
 Visor is).  Take out all the Turrets and Pirates (Flying and regular) and
 exit through the door at the top of the room.  Continue through the next room
 to reach Research Lab Aether.  Take out all the Pirates on your way up to the
 top of the room.  If the glass at the top isn't broken, just head back a few
 rooms to reload Aether and try again.  Once you finally make it to the top of
 Aether, head for the door.  A cutscene with the Metroid will play.  Without
 attacking the Metroid, exit through the door you were heading for before you
 were interrupted.  Attacking the Metroid will result in the door's locking,
 and you won't be able to get out without reloading the room and doing it all
 over.

 The next corridor takes you to the Control Tower.  Fortunately for you, you
 are entering from the back side.  This means you don't have to fight ANY of
 the enemies in this room.  Simply jump into the tower behind you (above the
 elevator) and break the boxes.  Shoot a missile at the fuel cells of the
 tower you can see through the window.  Go back to the main room, roll through
 the hole and collect the Artifact of Elder.  Roll along the fallen tower to
 get back to the main part of the room.

 Now, head back through the door from which you entered.  Follow this pathway
 through the rooms you've already visited (Research Lab Aether and Research
 Facility) to get back to Frozen Pike.  Head up the room and enter the first
 door to which you come (the Ice door on the left-hand side of the room as you
 enter).  Follow this back to the elevator and take it down.

 Save at the Save Point behind you, then head to Magmoor Workstation.  Take
 out the Flying Pirates; then, head through the left-hand door.  You've been
 through here, so you should know how to get through the rooms.  Take the Root
 Cave elevator up to Tallon Overworld.  Head up Root Cave and exit through the
 upper door.  Once in Tallon Canyon, make your way back to the Landing Site
 and save your game for the final battles.

FOR SPEED:

 From the Save Point in Metroid Quarantine B, backtrack through the Mines
 until you reach the tunnel connecting Fungal Hall A and Fungal Hall B.  The
 Metroids through here are not that big of a threat, so just ignore them all
 (except to freeze the ones that get in your way).  Collect the Artifact of
 Newborn and go back to Metroid Quarantine B.  Don't save, as it eats up a lot
 of time.  Instead, head to where you fought OP (Elite Quarters) and exit
 through the upper door.  Keep going until you reach Phazon Processing.

 Depending on your skill level, you can actually get up this room without
 fighting a single Trooper (the Turrets are another issue).  However, I would
 only try it on normal mode; hard is just way too difficult.  To do so, begin
 by taking out the first Turret (up and to the right as you enter the door).
 Now, make a sprint to the platform on which the Plasma Trooper is standing,
 using the platform to the left of it for help.  Quickly run behind the boxes
 to avoid taking any damage.  Face the window and get on top of the left-hand
 stack of boxes.  From here, turn to the left and jump to the left (on top of
 the little shelf above where the Turret used to be).

 Along the wall (the wall that runs next to the Ice door about half-way up the
 stage) is a crevice that is normally used while you are in Morph Ball mode.
 You can actually jump into the lowest point of this crevice.  From there, you
 can easily jump to the platform by the Ice door.  Right about now, these two
 Troopers will be aware of you.  Ignore them both and cut the corner to the
 left-hand branch of the catwalk.  Quickly get on the scaffolding of the
 window and climb it (like you did before) to reach the upper platforms.

 Quickly jump from platform to platform along the left side until you are past
 the Power Trooper.  Now, this is the tricky part.  You have to jump on the
 platform with him without getting knocked off.  From there, you can easily
 jump up to the platform in the corner of the room (on the same wall as the
 big window and free from any Trooper fire).  From here, turn around and
 freeze that Turret on the ceiling.  Once that's taken care of, use the top of
 the window (yes, you can walk on it) to reach the moving platform (you might
 have to wait for it to get in range).  Once you jump onto that, you'll have
 to make a fairly big jump to the ledge that leads to the door.

 Now, if you're not up for trying that, don't worry.  You can do this room at
 a decent speed if you kill them all; I was trying for a super-low time and
 it was looking VERY close, so I had to cut time any way I could.  To do this
 normally, check the normal walkthrough above.  If at any time you fall, using
 either method, just restart.  Either way, exit through the upper door and
 take the elevator to Magmoor Caverns.

 Once back at the Workstation, take the left-hand door.  I would suggest
 saving here; Phazon Processing is not something you want to do more than
 once (normal 23% - 1:14, 20%).  Take the elevator up to Phendrana.  Use the
same method
 described in the normal walkthrough to get up to the Ice Beam door behind the
 elevator and head to Frozen Pike.  Now, you have a couple of options at this
 point.  You can take the lower route and get the Artifact of Spirit first, or
 you can take the upper route and get the Artifact of Elder.  Both are just as
 fast, but the difference comes in difficulty.  The upper route is slightly
 harder to pull off, but it's up to you.  I'll just do it in the same order as
 I did in the normal walkthrough.

 Anyway, quickly jump down and enter the Wave door on the wall opposite of the
 door from which you entered.  In Frost Cave, take out the Metroid as usual,
 but don't shoot down any Stalactites.  You can dash jump to the exit using a
 stalactite above the door to the Save Point (there's no need to save anyway).
 Phendrana's Edge is no different than usual.  Take out the Flying Pirates and
 quickly make your way up using the above method.

 After collecting the Artifact of Spirit, make your way back to Frozen Pike
 and take the left-hand door that leads into the Research Labs.  When you open
 the Ice door to the Research Facility, shoot one of the Flying Pirates a few
 times before he flies off the screen.  Now, turn to the right and freeze that
 Turret before the other Flying Pirate gets back down to ground level.  Take
 out the other Pirate, then step out and freeze the other Turret.  Now, the
 fun part.  Instead of navigating the catwalks, we are going to navigate that
 huge thing in the middle of the room.  From the door, run and jump onto the
 lip that runs around the top of the device (not the actual top).  From here,
 jump on top of it.  Turn to the right and jump onto the catwalk that sticks
 out the farthest (where the ramps come up).  From the bottom of the three
 planes, you can jump to the next one without climbing the ramp.  Do the same
 thing to get to the highest of the three.  Without turning around, jump onto
 the rail directly behind you.  Now, double jump backwards as far as you can
 to land on the very top of the device.  From here, jump on the tip of the
 little prong to the right.  Now, it's just a simple double jump to the exit.

 Once you get to Research Lab Aether, ignore all the Pirates except the ones
 that get in your way (which won't be any, if you follow this guide).  As you
 enter the main part of this room, turn to the right.  Ghetto jump off one of
 those ramps at the bottom of the wall onto to top of the pod beside it.  Now,
 jump again to get on top of the piston-looking thing that joins the pod to
 the ceiling.  From here, do a short double jump backwards to land on a
 platform.  You are directly below the entrance to the enclosed area at the
 top.  Treat this jump exactly like you did with the one in Great Tree Hall
 (the one to the door to Life Grove Tunnel).  Once in the room, head for the
 door.  After the cutscene, ignore the Metroid and exit the room.  I should
 mention that every once in a while, the last Pirate in the room will not
 break the glass to the room containing the Metroid.  If this happens in a
 speed run, restart immediately.

 Anyway, that upper door takes you to the Control Tower.  You know what to do;
 break the boxes, melt the ice, and missile the fuel cells of the tower.
 Collect the Artifact of Elder unchallenged and head back through the same
 door as the one you entered.  Now, backtrack all the way to Frozen Pike (you
 shouldn't have to fight a single enemy).  Head through the upper door and
 take the elevator back down to Magmoor.  Don't bother saving.  Getting back
 to your ship isn't all that difficult.  Travel to the Workstation, then to
 the Root Cave elevator via the path through Geothermal Core.  Ride it up,
 then make your way to your ship at the Landing Site.

 Time elapsed: 1:21 [22%]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Segment 14 - Meta Ridley

 From the ship, you should have no trouble finding the Artifact Site.  Just
 head through the door directly in front of you (you'll have to navigate some
 ledges on your left).  Continue following this path and collect the Artifact
 of Truth (the last one) to fight Meta Ridley.

 Don't let this bucket of bolts intimidate you.  He's actually quite a bit
 easier than the Omega Pirate.  As I'm sure you already know, he has two
 phases.  For the first two-thirds of his life, phase one, he is in the air.
 For the last one-third of his life, phase two, he is on the platform with
 you.

 While he's in his aerial form, he has three different attack patterns.  He
 starts off by shooting beams and missiles at you.  He follows that up by
 doing a fly-by while dropping little bombs, shooting a beam, or both.  He
 then swoops down onto the platform, screams, then flies back away.  Repeat
 this until you take off two-thirds of his life.  A little note about the
 fly-by.  His first one only involves bombs.  His next ones involve both bombs
 and missiles.  The only exception is when he gets to half-life.  On that run,
 he'll only shoot his beam.  Either way, the method for avoiding them is the
 same.

 To avoid his beam while he's hovering, all you have to do is jump over it.
 While avoiding the missiles might seem difficult at first, it's actually
 quite simple; just don't do anything.  Yes, that's right.  If you stand
 still, nine times out of ten, you won't take any damage.  To avoid the
 fly-bys, perform a dash jump before he gets too close.  Again, nothing should
 hit you.  As for his swooping onto the platform, start off by standing in the
 middle of the platform.  When he appears, start backing up.  If you don't run
 into any of the monoliths, he will land where you started and shouldn't touch
 you.

 In order to damage him, you obviously need to hit him while his chest is
 exposed.  There's really no trick to this; just keep shooting.  The only
 exception is when he is in fly-by mode.  I haven't checked to see if you
 could actually damage him, but that's not the point.  The point is that there
 is no convenient time to do so.

 While he's in his ground form, he also has three different attack patterns.
 This time, however, it's not as easy to predict when he changes patterns.
 More often than not, he'll be dashing at you.  Other times, he'll just start
 screaming at you for whatever reason.  No real attack is going on here.  For
 his final pattern, he'll actually shoot his beam, but it's terribly easy to
 avoid; jumping is all there is to it.

 Avoiding his dash is quite possibly the most irritating part about this
 battle.  One wrong move and you lose about half your life, and that's on
 normal difficulty.  On hard, it does over 60 damage.  To avoid it, do a dash
 jump in either direction (this is much simpler to pull off than
 double-dashing).

 Again, you have to his his exposed chest to do any damage.  Problem is, his
 chest isn't automatically exposed like it was while he was in his air form.
 To expose his chest, you have to shoot him in his mouth quite a few times.
 You can hit him while he's loading up for a dash, but this takes precise
 timing.  The best time to hit him is when he is stopped on the platform
 screaming or shooting at you.  You can easily get off three or four shots at
 a time.

 Once you do enough damage to him in his ground phase (about half of his
 remaining life), he'll kick it into high gear.  This is the part that will
 piss you off the most.  The good news is that his patterns stay the same; the
 bad news is that his dashes are about twice as fast as they used to be.  This
 is the part that takes total concentration.  If your hand starts cramping up,
 you're not alone.  It happened to me several times.  Just pause the game (at
 a convenient spot) and take a break for a few minutes.  When you come back,
 finish off his remaining life, head into the Impact Crater, save.

FOR SPEED:

 There's really not much to say.  Just shoot him as many times as you can, as
 fast as you can.  There is one thing to note:  occasionally there will be a
 small glitch while you are fighting his second form.  While nothing big in a
 normal run, this can add well over a minute to your total time in a speed
 run.  What happens is you won't be able to do any damage to him while his
 chest is exposed.  This means that all the work you just did to make him
 expose it is gone to waste.  You'll know when this glitch happens because he
 won't flash red when you shoot his chest.  If it happens, you may want to
 consider restarting.

 Also, there is a very fast method for killing him once he lands in his ground
 form.  First of all, make sure you have all five of your missiles.  If you
 don't, I hate to say it, but restart.  The method involves shooting his mouth
 with a missile when he screams or shoots his beam at you.  This will
 instantly expose his chest.  The problem is, it takes 6 rounds of shooting
 his chest to kill him, and you only have 5 missiles.  Therefore, you'll have
 to do it the old-fashioned way:  with the Plasma Beam.  If you're feeling
 especially lucky, you can hope any leftover monoliths will drop a missile
 refill.  That way, you can use a missile to expose his chest all 6 times,
 which entails a much faster fight.

 Time elapsed: 1:27 [23%]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Segment 15 - Metroid Prime

 From the Save Point to the final battle is very straightforward.  In fact,
 there are only two types of enemies you'll see:  Lumigeks and Fission
 Metroids.  The first isn't a problem at all; they are a good way to refill
 missiles and power bombs.  The second is quite the problem.  In the Phazon
 Infusion Chamber, they will keep respawning as long as you are still in the
 room.  Therefore, the best way to treat them is to avoid them altogether.
 If you run at full speed and make your way up the room, you should only run
 into a slight hang-up about half-way up.  The two Metroids in this room will
 meet, and you'll be stuck in the middle.  If you can't run past them, drop a
 Power Bomb to take them both out; then, continue up as usual.

 This is where all your practice pays off.  His first form is actually quite
 easy as long as you take your time.  Use your first few tries to learn how to
 read his attacks.  When he summons those little orbs, they become your
 biggest priority.  One hit from those and you die on either mode.  Just whip
 out your Plasma Beam and shoot them a few times (three on normal mode and six
 on hard mode), taking out the left one first.  This way, your arm cannon
 doesn't block your view of Prime.  If you need an energy, missile, or power
 bomb refill, just let the one on the right get very close to you.  Of course,
 this is quite dangerous, but it's the only way to replinish something during
 this battle.  While taking out this one, keep an eye on Prime.  He has a
 tendencey to shoot beams and missiles at you while you're occupied.  Just
 double jump over the beams and sidestep the missiles.  As for his snare beam,
 there's no real way to avoid it, so just hold back and double jump over and
 over again.  Maybe you'll get lucky.  Try to line yourself up with the exact
 middle of his body.  When you get close to him, he'll try to attack with his
 claws.  For some odd reason, you can move at the last second and avoid them.
 Once he gets to the last subchamber, he will start dashing during attacks.
 If you're paying attention and you don't have any orbs to kill, roll into the
 rut.  Most of the time, however, he'll do it so quickly you won't be able to
 avoid it.  It only does 19 on hard mode, so it's nothing to worry about.

 Now, the fun part.  This is considerably harder that the first form.  It
 wouldn't be if you had the Thermal Visor, but that isn't the case.  Because
 you don't have that particular visor, your best option is to concentrate on
 staying alive while he's only able to be viewed by it.  A very good hiding
 place is behind his shell.  Use the Scan Visor to see track his scan point,
 and shift accordingly so he doesn't bump into you.  Thanks to Thog for
 pointing that out.  Now, it's easy to dodge the wave-quake.  The timing might
 be a little tricky at first, but you'll get used to it after a few tries.

 As I'm sure you know, after a little of his life has been taken off, he
 starts summoning Metroids and Hunter Metroids.  Freeze and missile them; you
 don't have time to mess around with the Plasma Beam.  This means you'll have
 to hope for missile refills at several points in this battle.  The Hunter
 Metroids are easily the most dangerous part of this whole fight.  If you
 don't kill them the first time, don't expect to survive this battle, unless
 you are the luckiest person on the face of the earth.  You could use a Power
 Bomb to kill the Hunter Metroids if you feel you must; but keep in mind,
 that's one less you'll have for the Fission Metroids.  Roll into a ball as
 soon as he starts summoning the Fission Metroids.  Lay a Power Bomb, and get
 out quickly.  If all this is done fast enough, neither Prime nor the Metroids
 should hit you.  If you run out of Power Bombs or missiles, just stand in a
 Phazon Pool and tap the A button to kill them; they die in one hit and you
 don't want to waste that Phazon.

 A very annoying part of this battle is Prime's uncanny ability to stop making
 Phazon pools.  There's a way to combat this, but it's a little risky.  For
 our purposes, you'll have to just wait it out.  Eventually, he'll make one.
 If you didn't get the implication there, the key to winning this battle is
 patience.  If you manage to pull this off, especially on hard mode, you have
 earned major bragging rights.  Congratulations!

FOR SPEED:

 In the first room past the Save Point, blast a few Lumigeks for a missile
 refill.  Don't slow down at all, though.  In the Phazon Infusion Chamber,
 you'll have to do a bit of tricky jumping to get up this room fast.  From the
 doorway, head to the right.  Cross the little Phazon gap and face the little
 cleft in the wall near the big white thing.  Ghetto jump off this white thing
 and get in that cleft.  Near the top is an invisible ledge.  From here, turn
 to the right and you'll notice little brown strips running along the wall.
 About eye level, there is a brown strip you can land on (second one from the
 top, I believe).  Double jump over to it so that you are standing on the flat
 part to the right of the down slope.  From there, perform a single jump
 without moving to the left or right to get on top of the one directly above
 this one.  Now, it's just a simple double jump to get on top of the ledge
 that is about half-way up the level.  All that can be a lot to take in, but
 you'll get it down eventually.  If you don't feel comfortable doing it that
 way, by all means, climb the room as you normally would.  At this point, the
 Metroids will gang up on you.  If they get on you, just bomb them off and
 keep going.  Enter the upper door to face the final boss of this masterpiece.

 Prime's first form is essentially the same as it is normally.  The only
 exception is you have to be a lot more careful.  The only real problem is
 when he summons the orbs (this is where the missiles come into play).  Keep
 shooting Prime with whatever beam he's vulnerable to and gradually back up.
 When the orbs get in your way of shooting Prime, missile them both.  99% of
 the time, one of them will drop a missile refill.  This way, you don't waste
 time switching beams, and you can get more life if needed (all at no time
 cost).  Remember, life is only a by-product of your main goal:  to damage
 Prime; don't neglect Prime to get life.  Yes, this strategy means the orbs
 become your lowest priority.  Kill them as a last resort, especially if you
 are on the verge of a Subchamber change; orbs can't transcend chambers.  It
 is also a good thing if Prime becomes vulnerable to Plasma more often that
 the other beams.  The Plasma Beam can do heaps of damage within a short
 amount of time.

 For Prime's second form, it is no longer a matter of luck.  There is actually
 a way to make sure Prime always makes pool.  Tons of thanks to Nate for
 figuring this out.  See, the theory is Prime always tries to make a pool, but
 sometimes he is hindered from this.  This hindrance comes from being on "bad"
 ground, which seems to be near the shell.  To combat this, always stand next
 to the wall directly opposite the shell.  Prime will never stop directly on
 top of you if you're against the wall, but his growl will still hit you, so
 be careful.

 The key to getting a fast run is to get Prime to make a pool at every phase
 change (yes, including one from X-Ray to Thermal).  While you can't see him
 when he's in Thermal mode, you can still damage him.  When he's in Thermal
 mode, use the Scan Visor to track him; but beware, the Scan Visor doesn't
 show you how close he is to you (within a certain distance).  Just remember,
 the higher up you have to look to see him, the closer he is to you, more
 often than not.

 As soon as you hear the sound of him performing his growl, morph into a ball.
 If the pool is out in the open, roll directly through it.  If it is near a
 wall, it's not that simple.  Roll to the side of the pool farthest from the
 wall (but don't roll through it).  Drop a Power Bomb to take out any Metroids
 (if needed) and unmorph.  Switch to the appropriate visor, and, after he
 switches phases (you can tell by the sound), back up (you may have to adjust
 yourself if he makes a pool near a wall) and stand in the pool.  Now, start
 blasting.  This method serves two purposes.  For one, more from your Phazon
 Beam will hit Prime the closer you are to him, resulting in more damage.
 Secondly, this is the key to damaging Prime when he is in Thermal mode.
 Since you can't see him, you'll have to have faith in my system.

 While I know this sounds unbelievable, you can actually kill Prime in four
 pools without the Charge Beam in normal mode!  If you don't understand the
 sheer awesomeness of this, I question your love of the game.  You have to
 press A EXTREMELY fast to pull this off.  One slip of the thumb will kill
 your chances of getting a four pool kill.  But fear not, if you don't get him
 in four pools, you can still get a fairly good time in five pools.  Just
 always play out the whole fight, because it can't hurt.

 Time elapsed: 1:38 [normal 23%], 2:20 [22%], 3:10 [hard 23%]

 Obviously, your total time may vary from mine.  Anything sub-3 is good, and
 anything sub-2 is just plain awesome.  It's not all that difficult on normal
 mode, but it's a different story for hard mode.  As of this second, it hasn't
 been done yet; but I'm working on it.

===============================================================================
===============================================================================

III. Legal Crap

 This FAQ is the 2003 Copyright of me, TreborSelbon.  Any of the Metroid stuff
 is the property of Nintendo.  This FAQ is for personal use only.  Don't take
 it, change it, sell it, promote it, or use it in any way, shape, or form
 without asking me first.  Basically, if you need this FAQ for something other
 than personal use, I MUST give you permission.  Websites are not covered
 under personal use.

 If anyone reads this anywhere other than the sites I specifically mention
 below, let me know immediately.

===============================================================================

IV. Special Thanks

 As you might have seen already, I didn't do all this myself.  I would like to
 thank kip, zell, Videogaming, Thog, Amasawa, Tim, Toozin, Radix, CAL, Nate,
 Sesshoumaru, Banks, Rage, Paratroopa, Solr Flare, Tzyr, and everyone else who
 inspired me to make or had a hand in the actual making of this FAQ.  I
 wouldn't be human if I haven't left someone off; so, let me know if your name
 should be here, tell me why, and I'll put you here.  Yes, I'll update the FAQ
 JUST to put someone's name in the credits.

 Of course, I'd like to thank CJayC for hosting my FAQ on such an awesome
 site:

 http://www.gamefaqs.com

 I'd also like to thank Nate for hosting an awesome site.  Metroid
 Headquarters is now merged with his site Metroid 2002.  This merge solved a
 pretty big conflict with a download service.  Plus, Nate's site kicks ass.
 Go here for tons of Metroid Prime videos, Radix's 1:37 100% run, Sess' 1%
 Fusion no-hit run, kip's 1:23 any % run, my 1:38 23% run (coming VERY soon;
 I'm sending the tape to Nate within the next couple of days), and some other
 stuff.

 http://www.metroid2002.com

===============================================================================

V. Contact Information

 Email: [email protected]
 AIM: TreborSelbon
 MSN: Use the hotmail account above.

 You know how hotmail is...lots of spam.  So if you send me an email, make
 sure I can make out that it's about the FAQ.  If it's not clear, it may get
 deleted.  I'm on AIM and MSN every night, so feel free to IM me.  I'll gladly
 take any questions, suggestions, or comments about the FAQ.

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